COLONISTStMl 

AND  THE 

REVOLUTION 


GIFT   OF 


THE  COLONISTS 
AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


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THE  COLONISTS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

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CENTURY     READINGS    IN     UNITED    STATES    HISTORY 

THE   COLONISTS 
AND    THE    REVOLUTION 


EDITED  BY 

CHARLES   L.   BARSTOW 


NEW   YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1912 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


Published  March,  1912 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  GOOD  OLD  COLONY  TIMES     .     Helen  E.  Smith 3 

THE  EARLIER  INDIAN  WARS     .      .    Edward  Eggleston      ....  9 

BY  THE  WATERS  OF  CHESAPEAKE  .     John  W.  Palmer 20 

A  SETTLER  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  .      .    Richard  Townsend      ....  29 

THE  MANY-SIDED  FRANKLIN    .     .    Paul  Leicester  Ford    ....  31 

PHILADELPHIA Talcott  Williams 47 

THE  WALKING  PURCHASE   .     .     .     George  Wheeler 57 

DUTCH  CHARACTERISTICS     .     .      .     Mrs.  Van  Rensselacr  ....  65 

LIFE  ON  A  COLONIAL  MANOR     .     .     Helen  E.  Smith 70 

A  COLONIAL  LETTER 83 

A  THANKSGIVING  DINNER 85 

LITTLE  PURITANS H.  E.  Scudder 88 

THE  FUR-TRADER  AND  THE  INDIAN    Parkman,  Kalm   and   others     .  96 

THE  ALGONQUIN  MEDICINE-BOY     .     Francis  S.   Palmer     ....  103 

IN  1776 W.  H.  V enable 113 

A  TORY  ARGUMENT Rev.  Andrew  Burnaby     .     .      .  126 

THE  PROLOGUE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION    Justin  H.  Smith 129 

WASHINGTON  .     .     • Henry  Cabot  Lodge    ....  138 

WASHINGTON  AS  AN   ATHLETE     .     Mrs.  Burton  Harrison     .      .     .  149 
THE  SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

Mary  V.  Worstell       .      .      .      .157 
THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON  (1777)     George  Washington    .     .     .     .179 

NATHAN  HALE Mary  S.  Northrop       ....  184 

LA  FAYETTE Mrs.  Eugenia  M.  Hodge     .     .  194 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN     .     .     .     .     H.  A.  Ogden 201 

PAUL  JONES Molly  Elliot  Seawell  ....  209 

vii 


viii  Contents 


PAGE 


THE  STAMP- ACT  Box  ....  David  W.  Woods,  Jr.  .  .  .221 
THE  ORIGIN  OF  OUR  FLAG  .  .  Parmalee  McFadden  ....  225 
BOSTON Thomas  W.  Higginson  .  .  .231 


Acknowledgment  is  made  of  the  courtesy  of  Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  and 
Justin  H.  Smith  for  permission  to  use  the  article  "  The  Prologue  of  the  Revolu 
tion,"  and  to  Molly  Klliot  Seawell  for  permission  to  reprint  the  article  on  "  Paul 
Jones." 


THE  COLONISTS 
AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


CONCORD  HYMN 
BY  RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON 

Sung  at  the  Completion  of  the  Battle  Monument, 
April  19,  1836. 

By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the  flood, 
Their  flag  to  April's  breeze  unfurled, 

Here  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 

And  fired  the  shot  heard   round   the  world. 

The  foe  long  since  in  silence  slept; 

Alike  the  conqueror  silent  sleeps ; 
And  Time  the  ruined  bridge  has  swept 

Down  the  dark  stream  which  seaward  creeps. 

On  this  green  bank,  by  this  soft  stream, 

We  set  to-day  a  votive  stone ; 
That  memory  may  their  deed  redeem, 

When,  like  our  sires,  our  sons  are  gone. 

Spirit,  that  made  those  heroes  dare 
To  die,  and  leave  their  children  free, 

Bid  Time  and  Nature  gently  spare 
The  shaft  we  raise  to  them  and  thee. 


THE   COLONISTS 
AND    THE    REVOLUTION 

THE  GOOD  OLD  COLONY  TIMES  1 
BY  HELEN  E.  SMITH 

In  forming  pictures  of  home  life  in  the  colonies,  dates, 
places,  and  social  classes  must  all  be  most  carefully  con 
sidered.  The  life  conditions  which  prevailed  in  the  New 
England  colonies  from  1620  to  1640  were  by  no  means  the 
same  as  those  which  prevailed  in  the  same  colonies  dur 
ing  the  next  two  decades,  and  in  the  other  colonies  they 
were  at  no  time  quite  the  same  as  in  New  England.  The 
settlers  of  Virginia,  Delaware  and  Maryland  were  not  of 
the  same  creeds,  either  political  or  religious  as  those  which 
prevailed  in  New  England.  They  had  more  money  and 
the  climate  had  also  its  influence. 

The  Dutch  held  very  similar  religious  and  political  views 
to  those  of  the  New  England  colonists,  but  their  com 
mercial  instincts  \vere  stronger,  their  aggressiveness  was 
less  vehement,  and  their  love  of  home  comforts  and  knowl 
edge  of  how  to  obtain  them  were  much  greater. 

These  first  three  sets  of  colonists  had  passed  through 
their  pioneer  stages,  and  gathered  around  themselves  a  fair 
degree  of  all  the  accompaniments  of  civilization  before  the 

1  Extracts  from  "  Colonial  Days  and  Ways." 

3 


The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


advent  of  the  fourtti  distinct  and  considerable  body  of  set 
tlers.     These  were  the  refugee  Huguenots. 

In  studying  the  lives  of  the  early  colonists   these   dif 
ferent  origins  should  always  be  considered. 

The  Puritan  —  a  political  as  well  as  a  religious  exile, 
-persecuted  for  his  political  views  even  more  than  his 
religious  tenets,  came  here  to  found  an  empire  where  all 
his  views  should  have  room  to  expand.  The  harshness  of 
the  Puritan  toward  those  who  disagreed  with  him  was 
tenderness  and  mercy  compared  to  the  "  justice  "  meted  out 
in  old  England  at  that  period. 

The  conditions  of  the  Puritan's 
life  were  hard  but  full  of  men 
tal,  moral  and  physical  health. 
Whether  gentle  or  simple,  he  de 
spised  no  handicraft,  neglected  no 
means  of  cultivation,  shirked  no 
duty  (nor  did  he  permit  any  other 
to  do  so  if  he  could  help  it),  and 
he  fought  his  way  upward,  unhast- 
ing,  unresting. 

The  settlers  of  the  fertile  South 
land  were  also  principally 
of  English  blood,  yet  they 
differed  widely  from  those 
of  the  sterile  North.  They 
were  courageous,  of  course. 
Cowards  did  not  cross  the 
Colonial  wrought-iron  lamp  and  ocean  in  those  days,  when 

sad-iron.  .  ,      -  .,, 

the   sea   and  the   wilderness 
had  real  terrors  for  even  the  boldest.     The  love  of  liberty 


The  Good  Old  Colony  Times 


Colonial  cocked-hat. 


was  in  their  blood,  and  both  the  traditions  of  their  past 
and  the  comparatively  genial  conditions  by  which  they 
were  surrounded  gave  them  easy  and  comfortable  views. 

The  Huguenot  was  devout,  un 
ambitious,  affectionate  of  heart, 
artistic,  cultivated,  adaptable. 
He  brought  to  us  the  arts,  the 
accomplishments  and  graces  of 
the  highest  civilization  then 
known,  together  with  a  cheerful 
ness  all  his  own.  Not  a  colony, 
not  a  class  but  was  ameliorated 
by  his  influence.  The  home  lives  of  all  these  different 
bands  of  colonists  must  have  differed  widely.  None  had 
luxuries  and  few  had  comforts,  as  we  now  understand 
these  terms,  but  each  had  some  possessions,  some  ways, 
some  deficiencies,  and  some  attainments  which  belonged  to 
none  of  the  others. 

At  one  time  there  was  a  general  impression  that  all  the 
immigrant  families  of  good  standing  had  brought  over 
with  them  many  rich  articles  of  furniture,  much  silver 
plate,  and  even  many  articles  of  porcelain.  Later  on  it 
had  to  be  acknowledged  that  nothing  but  the  most  es 
sential  of  household  furnishings  could  have  been  permitted 
on  vessels  which  were  already  overcrowded  with  pas 
sengers  and  the  animals  which  were  essential  to  life  and 
agriculture  in  the  new  land. 

Rudimentary  schools  were  defective  in  many  ways,  but 
the  teachers  did  their  best  to  make  zeal  atone  for  the  lack 
of  other  essentials.  Never  from  first  to  last  did  they  cease 
to  set  the  highest  value  upon  intellectual  cultivation  or 


The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


fail  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  secure  for  their 
children  the  advantages  of  a  "  polite  education,"  a  phrase 
which  is  repeated  hundreds  of  times  in  old  letters. 

The  earliest  New  England  dwellings  were  built  of  logs, 

soon  superseded  by  the 
permanent  homestead. 
The  larger  part  of  the 
best  of  the  early  per 
manent  homesteads  were 
much  alike.  Both  the 
external  Avails  and  those 
of  the  partitions  were  of 
heavy  timbers  roughly 
squared  by  the  ax, 


Colonial  hob-nailed  shoes. 


chinked  with  moss,  and 
lined  with  hewn  planks 
two  inches  in  thickness. 
In  later  days  coats  of 
plaster  were  put  on  over 

the  planks,  but  during  the  first  years  the  walls  were  made 
warm  as  well  as  picturesque  by  hangings  of  bear,  deer, 
otter,  wild  cat,  and  fox  skins. 

The  exterior  walls  were  about  t\vo  feet  in  thickness, 
which  tells  of  the  size  of  the  forest  trees  which  had  been 
cut  down  to  make  them.  The  high-placed  and  deep-seated 
windows  were  scant  in  number,  heavily  barred  and  narrow. 
It  is  doubtful  if  the  first  of  the  windows  were  glazed. 
Even  in  old  England  it  was  only  the  wealthy  who  at  this 
time  could  afford  the  luxury  of  glass.  Oiled  paper  \vas  the 
usual  substitute  to  exclude  cold  with  heavy  and  close 
wooden  shutters  both  outside  and  inside.  During  the  cold 
est  weather  it  must  have  been  necessary  to  depend  for  light, 


The  Good  Old  Colony  Times  7 

even  in  the  daytime,  upon  the  open  fires,  pine  knots,  and 
candles  for  at  least  the  first  two  decades  in  each  new  settle 
ment. 

In  the  center  of  the  house  rose  the  great  stone  chimney, 
with  wide  fireplaces  opening  into  three  large  rooms  on  the 
first  story,  and  into  four  on  the  second  story. 

The  second  story,  on  the  two  longer  sides  projected  con 
siderably  beyond  the  lower.  In  view  of  the  constant 
danger  from  Indians,  it  is  probable  that  the  house  was  in 
tended  to  be  used  as  a  fortress  in  case  of  necessity. 

Not  until  well  into  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century  was  furniture  of  any  but  the  roughest  sorts  made 
in  New  England. 

Scanty  enough,  according  to  our  standard,  were  the 
plenishings  of  the  wealthy  houses  of  old  England,  and 


Colonial  wigs. 

really  pathetic  was  the  scarcity  here,  of  what  were  even 
then  esteemed  to  be  essential  comforts  in  the  older  land. 

Floor  coverings  were  a  rarity  even  in  palaces  and  the 
sand  and  rushes  which  silenced  the  tread  were  as  plentiful 
here  as  elsewhere. 

Wooden  dishes  served  on  ordinary  occasions  in  Old  Eng 
land  as  in  New. 

The  real  sense  of  privation  was  felt  in  things  much  closer 
to  the  needs  of  primitive  man. 


8         The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Great,  very  great,  must  1iave  been  the  sufferings  from 
the  cold  and  from  the  lack  of  suitable  food.  Hot  water 
was  not  dreamed  of  as  a  beverage  and  the  milder  stimulants 
of  our  day  had  not  been  introduced.  The  earliest  mention 
of  chocolate  in  Connecticut  is  said  to  have  been  in  1679. 
Five  years  later  coffee  is  first  named,  and  tea  not  until 
1695. 


ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA  IN  1782 

O  Thou,  that  sendest  out  the  man 

To  rule  by  land  and  sea, 
Strong  mother  of  a  Lion-line, 
Be  proud  of  those  strong  sons  of  thine 

Who  wrench'd  their  rights  from  thee  ! 

What  wonder  if  in  noble  heat 

Those  men   thine  arms  withstood, 
Retaught  the  lesson  thou  hast  taught, 
And  in  thy  spirit  with  thee  fought, — 

Who  sprang  from  English  blood  ! 

ALFRED  TENNYSON. 


THE  EARLIER  INDIAN  WARS 
BY  EDWARD  EGGLESTON 

The  Virginia  colony,  in  its  early  struggle 
with  want,  was  saved  from  complete  overthrow 
at  the  hands  of  the  savages  by  the  address  of 
Captain  John  Smith,  by  the  imperviousness  of 
English  armor  to  arrow-shots,  and  by  the  frightful 
detonations  of  matchlock  guns  and  small  cannon. 
After  the  marriage  of  Pocahontas  there  ensued  an 
era  of  good  feeling  in  which  the  confederated  tribes 
of  the  Virginia  peninsulas  found  it  better  to  trade 
with  white  men  than  to  fight  them.  Meanwhile, 
English  religionists  cultivated  a  sentimental  enthu 
siasm  about  the  Indians,  founding  a  school  and  de 
vising  other  things  for  the  wild  men  as  laudable  in 
aim  as  they  were  impossible  of  execution.  The 
Indian  war  eager  pioneers,  feeling  secure  and  intent  on  open 
ing  ground  for  growing  tobacco,  planted  their 
cabins  farther  and  farther  apart  along  the  inviting  river- 
banks.  They  traded  with  the  savages  for  corn,  and  hired 
them  to  shoot  with  English  fowling-pieces  the  great  bronze- 
breasted  wild  turkeys,  the  innumerable  pigeons, —  whose 
flight  by  millions  sometimes  obscured  the  sky  and  was 
thought  an  omen  of  evil, —  and  the  water-fowl  that  gath 
ered  in  countless  flocks  upon  the  bays  and  tributaries  of 
the  James  River.  These  Indian  hunters  lived  in  the  houses 
of  their  employers,  penetrated  the  mystery  of  European 

9 


1O      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

habits,  and  became  expert  with  fire-arms,  so  that  the  dread 
of  the  white  man's  magic  charms  and  deadly  thunderbolts 
wore  away.  Even  the  implacable  old  Opechancanough, 
who  had  come  to  the  leadership  on  the  death  of  Powhatan, 


Indian  rattles  of  turtle  shell. 

seemed  to  be  friendly.  He  accepted  a  house  from  the  man 
ager  of  the  college  lands,  and  found  no  end  of  delight  in 
locking  and  unlocking  the  door.  The  savages  entered 
freely  the  isolated  and  unfortified  cabins  of  the  settlers 
without  so  much  as  knocking;  they  ate  from  the  planters' 
supplies,  and  slept  wrapped  in  skins  or  blankets  before  the 
wide-open  fireplaces.  The  former  hardships  of  the  col 
onists  were  fast  sinking  into  that  happy  oblivion  which 
peace  and  prosperity  bring. 

But  in  1622,  on  the  22d  of  March  (Old  Style),  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  while  the  men  were  afield,  the  Indians 
fell  upon  the  women  and  children  in  the  houses  and  the 
men  who  worked  unarmed  abroad,  killing  the  settlers  with 


The  Earlier  Indian  Wars  11 

their  own  axes,  hatchets,  hoes,  and  knives,  hacking  and 
disfiguring  their  dead  bodies,  and  then*  fortunately,  paus 
ing  to  pillage  and  burn  the  dwellings.  The  unutterable 
outrages  on  living  and  dead,  so  familiar  in  the  history  of 
Indian  massacres  from  that  time  to  this,  appeared  in  this 
first  onslaught.  The  plan  had  been  well  laid  to  exterminate 
or  drive  away  every  Englishman  from  the  coast.  One 
Indian  of  those  dwelling  among  white  men  and  under 
missionary  influence  was  touched  with  compassion.  As 
he  lay  upon  the  floor  the  night  before  the  massacre,  he 
received  from  a  companion  the  authoritative  command  of 
his  tribe  to  kill  the  master  of  the  house  in  which  he  lived; 
but  he  rose  and  whispered  a  warning  to  his  benefactor,  who 
carried  the  tidings  across  the  water  into  Jamestown,  so  that 
the  authorities  were  able  to  check  the  Indians  after  three 
hundred  and  forty-seven  Europeans  had  been  slain.  The 
savages  had  not  quite  lost  their  fear  of  the  English;  they 
turned  back  from  every  show  of  force,  even  from  an  empty 
gun  in  the  hand  of  a  woman. 

One-twelfth  of  the  whole  colony  had  fallen,  almost 
within  a  single  hour.  The  Virginia  planters  had  no 
countrymen  on  this  side  of  the  sea  except  the  remote  hand 
ful  of  famine-stricken  pilgrims  beyond  Cape  Cod;  and  this 
destructive  blow  appalled  the  colonists,  and  there  was  talk 
of  fleeing  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesapeake  for  se 
curity.  But,  under  prudent  leadership,  the  settlers  were 
drawn  together  into  the  stronger  places  and  made  to  pre 
sent  a  compact  and  undaunted  front.  They  built  palisaded 
houses  and  carried  their  arms  in  the  field  and  to  church. 
A  savage  ferocity,  born  of  resentment  and  terror,  showed 
itself,  and  the  white  men  did  not  scruple  to  treat  a  per 
fidious  foe  with  shameless  bad  faith.  How  else  could  Eng- 


12       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

lish  soldiers,  in  cumbrous  armor,  ever  come  up  with  bow 
men  so  fleet  of  foot  and  so  light  of  baggage?  Affecting 
to  make  peace,  the  English  appointed  the  2$d  of  July, 
1623,  as  a  day  on  which  to  fall  simultaneously  upon  the 
unsuspecting  Indian  villages,  slaughtering  the  people,  burn 
ing  the  wigwams,  and  cutting  up  the  growing  maize,  so  as 
to  leave  the  savages  to  a  winter  of  misery  and  starvation. 
Another  attack  was  made  in  1624,  when  eight  hundred 
Pamunkeys  and  other  Indians  made  a  brave  stand  for  two 
days,  but  were  at  length  beaten  by  the  odds  of  fire-arms 
and  defensive  armor. 

In  1644,  twenty-two  years  after  this  first  massacre,  when 
Opechancanough  wras  shriveled  and  palsied  with  age,  un 
able  to  stand  on  his  feet  or  to  open  his  eyelids  without  help, 
he  was  borne  on  a  litter  to  command  in  a  new  attack.  The 
Indians,  hearing  that  there  was  civil  strife  in  England,  and 
having  seen  a  battle  between  a  king's  ship  and  a  parlia 
ment  ship  in  the  James  River,  thought  it  a  good  opportunity 
to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  English.  Five  hundred 
were  killed  in  two  days,  but  the  arrival  of  the  governor 
with  an  armed  force  put  the  savages  to  flight.  Ope 
chancanough  was  afterward  taken  and  carried  into  James 
town,  where  a  soldier  appointed  to  guard  him  shot  the 
unmollified  centenarian,  to  whom  were  attributed  so  many 
woes. 

Very  different  in  origin  and  outcome  from  the  Virginia 
war  wras  the  beginning  of  sorrows  in  New  England.  The 
Dutch  purchased  the  Connecticut  River  country  from  the 
powerful  Pequots,  who  had  recently  expelled  the  tribes 
formerly  seated  on  its  banks.  Thereupon  English  settlers 
brought  back  the  former  owners,  gave  them  the  protection 
of  an  English  fort,  and  from  them  acquired  a  rival  title. 


The  Earlier  Indian  Wars  13 

This  inflamed  the  jealousy  of  the  Pequots,  some  of  whom 
made  themselves  amends  by  killing  the  unarmed  crew  of 
a  trading  boat  from  Virginia.  The  allies  of  the  Pequots 
on  Block  Island  also  slew  John  Oldham,  trading  thither 
from  Massachusetts. 

Captain  Endecott,  afterward  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
commanded  the  force  sent  out  in  1636,  with  orders  to  bring 
these  Indians  to  reason  by  putting  to  death  all  their  able- 
bodied  men.  Endecott  was  very  brave  in  chopping  down 
May-poles,  banishing  churchmen,  and  hanging  Quakers, 
but  he  was  not  so  well  suited  to  contend  with  Indians.  On 
Block  Island,  he  burned  the  combustible  wigwams  and  cut 
to  pieces  seven  canoes,  but  the  nimble  savages  retreated 
to  hiding-places  according  to  their  wont.  Flushed  with 
triumph,  Captain  Endecott  then  sailed  to  "  Pequot  Har- 


m  «io  lithograph  in  tho  New  York  Public  Library  I  Samuel  P.   Avrry  collection) 

White  women  attacked  by  Indians. 


14       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

bor  " — now  known  as  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  River  — 
in  Connecticut.  Here  the  Pequots  outwitted  him  by  keep 
ing  negotiations  open  until  they  could  remove  their  fami 
lies  and  household  stuff.  The  English  at  length  "  beat  up 
the  drums  "  as  a  challenge  to  battle,  giving  fair  warning  to 
the  fleet  savages  to  get  out  of  the  way  before  the  guns  were 
discharged.  The  Pequots  shot  off  some  arrows  and  then 
ran  away  under  fire.  Endecott  returned  to  Boston  without 
losing  a  man  or  impairing  the  enemy's  strength.  The  hand 
ful  of  settlers  on  the  Connecticut,  and  the  little  garrison 
under  Lieutenant  Lion  Gardiner  at  the  mouth  of  that  river, 
were  left  to  endure  as  best  they  might  the  fury  which  this 
expedition  had  provoked.  The  insolence  of  the  embold 
ened  and  enraged  Pequots  now  passed  all  bounds.  They 
made  raids  on  the  Connecticut  settlers,  killed  and  captured 
straggling  soldiers  from  the  fort  at  Saybrook,  torturing 
every  hapless  white  man  that  fell  into  their  hands,  and  re 
peating  within  hearing  of  the  garrison  the  cries,  groans, 
prayers,  and  distressful  ejaculations  uttered  by  those  whom 
they  had  tormented,  mimicking  and  deriding  their  agon 
ies,  and  wearing  head-bands  made  of  the  fingers  and  toes 
of  their  victims. 

In  Maryland,  a  conflict  with  the  tribes  broke  out  about 
the  time  of  the  close  of  the  Pequot  War  in  Connecticut. 
The  first  contest  with  the  Susquehannas  seems  to  have 
dragged  its  indecisive  course  through  thirteen  years,  and 
when  peace  was  made  with  this  tribe  there  was  still  trouble 
from  some  of  the  bands  on  the  eastern  peninsula.  The 
records  are  so  defective  that  we  are  only  able  to  see  occur 
rences  in  a  sort  of  historic  twilight;  the  Indian  wars  ap 
pear  to  be  without  beginning  or  end.  We  catch  a  dim 
vision  of  the  gallant  figure  of  Colonel  Corn  way  leys,  "  the 


The  Earlier  Indian  Wars  15 

guardian  genius  of  the  colony,"  as,  at  a  later  period,  we 
iear  of  the  exploits  of  Colonel  Ninian  Beale.  We  are 
ible  to  conjecture  something  of  the  distresses  of  the  in- 
rant  colony  during  a  prolonged  Indian  war,  to  which  were 
iiiperadded  religious  dissensions,  insubordination,  and 
nore  than  one  revolution.  Meamvhile,  Virginia  was  never 
rree  for  many  years  at  a  time  from  the  scourge,  and  in 
:6$6  her  troops  suffered  a  bitter  defeat  near  the  present  site 
)f  Richmond,  at  a  brook  which  still  bears  the  name  of 
Bloody  Run. 

In  1675,  there  came  upon  the  thriving  New  England 
:olonies  that  struggle  between  Indian  ferocity  and  English 
:ndurance  known  as  King  Philip's  War.  Philip's  father 
vas  Massasoit,  the  ally  of  the  Pilgrims.  His  son  and  suc- 
:essor,  Alexander  —  so  called  by  the  English  —  had  been 
udely  put  under  arrest  by  the  Plymouth  authorities  on  sus- 
>icion  of  hostile  intentions.  Soon  after  his  release  he  died, 
ome  thought  of  grief  and  humiliation.  Philip,  who  suc- 
eeded  his  brother,  was  a  typical  Indian  chief,  arrogant 
.nd  cringing  by  turns.  It  pleased  his  inordinate  vanity  to 
>lot  against  the  English,  though  he  shrank  from  the  actual 
ollision,  which  appears  to  have  been  brought  about  at  last, 
.s  so  many  Indian  massacres  have  been,  by  the  impetuous 
ralor  of  the  young  warriors, —  members  of  that  fierce  de- 
nocracy  known  in  the  western  tribes  at  the  present  time  as 
'  the  soldiers'  lodge  "•  —  a  body  which  often  carries  the  day 
.gainst  wiser  counsel  when  war  is  in  the  making.  But 
~Jhilip's  arrogance,  matched  by  that  of  the  General  Court 
it  Plymouth,  rendered  the  collision  inevitable  sooner  or 
ater. 

Had  those  in  authority  at  Plymouth  and  Boston  appre- 
:iated-the  immense  advance  in  power  which  the  Indians  had 


16       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Indian  stockade. 

made  in  acquiring  the  use  of  the  white  man's  weapons, 
they  might  have  found  means  to  avoid  a  conflict  which 
presently  brought  upon  them,  in  addition  to  Philip's 
Wampanoags,  the  Nipmucks  of  the  Massachusetts  middle 
country,  the  populous  clans  of  the  Connecticut  Valley,  the 
powerful  Narragansetts  of  the  coast  south  of  Cape  Cod. 
and  after  awhile  the  Tarranteens  of  the  East.  Little  ac 
quainted  with  Indian  warfare,  the  white  men  fell  into 
one  ambush  after  another  and  suffered  surprise  after  sur 
prise.  Marching  in  close  order,  the  strength  of  a  party 
was  easily  reckoned  and  its  ranks  readily  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  skulking  foe.  "  Our  men,"  says  Gookins,  "  could  see 
no  enemy  to  shoot  at,  but  yet  felt  their  bullets  out  of  the 
thick  bushes/'  For  a  long  time  there  was  little  but  dis 
asters  of  sudden  massacre  and  overwhelming  defeat,  of 


The  Earlier  Indian  Wars  17 

families  slain,  hamlets  in  flames,  and  women  and  children 
carried  into  captivity.  The  Puritans  sought  to  placate  an 
angry  deity  by  fasting  and  humiliations,  and  by  laws  against 
such  abominations  as  the  wearing  of  long  hair  by  men  and 
the  wearing  of  short  hair  and  too  many  ribbons  by 
women.  Young  people  were  forbidden  to  drive  together, 
and  God  was  to  be  pleased  by  a  renewed  persecution  of 
the  Quakers.  But,  in  spite  of  these  reforms,  Captain 
Hutchinson  and  sixteen  men  were  cut  off  by  an  ambush 
near  Brookfield;  Captain  Beers  \vas  slain  with  twenty  of 
his  men  while  on  his  way  to  Hadley;  Captain  Lathrop, 
attempting  to  reach  Hadley  a  week  later,  was  cut  off  with 
almost  his  whole  troop  of  about  a  hundred  men.  North- 
field  and  Deerfield  \vere  abandoned  to  be  burned  by  the 
savages,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Springfield  was  de 
stroyed.  What  seems  nowr  to  have  been  a  rather  impolitic 
attack  on  the  Narragansett  stronghold  resulted  in  victory, 
purchased  by  a  loss  so  great  that  the  slender  military  force 
of  the  colonies  was  staggered  by  it.  The  scattering  far 
and  near  of  the  enraged  warriors  of  this  powerful  tribe, 
homeless  and  famine-stricken  in  a  bitter  winter,  only 
aggravated  the  sorrows  of  New  England.  In  midwinter, 
Lancaster  was  destroyed  and  forty  of  its  people  slain  and 
captured.  The  daring  enemy  penetrated  to  within  twenty 
miles  of  Boston,  and  assailed  Medfield  and  Weymouth. 
Almost  the  whole  of  the  old  colony  of  Plymouth  was  laid 
waste,  Warwick  in  Rhode  Island  was  destroyed,  and 
Providence  was  partly  burned.  Pierce  and  his  whole  party 
of  fifty  fell  by  an  ambuscade,  Wads  worth  and  a  like 
number  were  cut  off  in  the  same  way;  and  so  numerous 
and  disheartening  were  the  disasters,  that  the  total  de 
population  of  Massachusetts  colony  began  to  be  feared. 


i8       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


But,  however  inferior  the  colonists  might  be  to  the  In 
dians  in  the  skill  needed  for  a  forest  war,  it  was  soon  shown 
in  New  England,  as  elsewhere,  that  civilization  has  super 
ior  staying  quality.  The  infuriated  savages  at  length  ex 
hausted  themselves  by  the  very  energy  of  their  attacks. 
Having  no  stores  or  resources,  and  no  efficient  organiza 
tion,  they  could  not  hold  together.  As  spring  advanced, 
the  Indians  scattered  in  small  hunting  and  fishing  parties 
to  avoid  perishing.  The  Connecticut  River  tribes  grew 
weary  of  wandering  from  place  to  place  in  hungry  and 
continual  terror  of  the  persevering  colonists,  and  Phi-lip 
became  unpopular  as  the  author  of  their  wretchedness;  the 
Mohawks  showed  hostility  to  Philip,  and  the  Nipmucks 
were  overawed  by  the  now7  successful  white  men.  Philip 
and  his  immediate  band  doggedly  returned  eastward  to 
their  old  haunt  at  Mount  Hope.  Here  the  first  real  frontier 
^.^_.__.™__ —  ..7,,7___^  warrior  of  New 

England,  Benjamin 
Church,  at  the  head 
of  a  motley  troop, 
was  beating  the  sav 
ages  at  their  own 
game  of  skulking, 
ambuscade,  and  sur 
prise.  The  war  was 
virtually  ended  in 
August,  1676,  when 
Philip,  seeking  to 
make  a  timely  escape 
from  a  swamp,  as  he 
had  often  done  be- 

Plan  of  a  Pequot  fort.  fore>     was     kille(1     b^ 


The  Earlier  Indian  Wars 


L:..;,  -,i 

• 


Indian  chief. 

God  sent  them  the 


one  of  his  own  Indians  who 
had  deserted  to  Church's  party. 
Vengeance  was  wreaked  upon 
his  dead  body,  which  was 
quartered  and  hung  upon  trees. 
One  of  his  hands  was  deliv 
ered  to  the  man  who  killed 
him,  to  be  carried  round  for 
a  penny  peep-show,  and  his 
head  was  taken  into  Plymouth 
on  a  public  thanksgiving  day, 
and  stuck  upon  a  gibbet  after 
the  barbarous  fashion  of  that  time, 
head  of  a  leviathan  for  a  thanksgiving  feast,"  brags  Cotton 
Mather,  who,  some  years  afterward,  robbed  the  head  of  its 
jaw-bone,  which  he  carried  to  Boston  as  a  relic. 

Never  \vere  thanksgivings  more  sincere  than  those  of 
fered  in  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts.  Upward  of  two 
thousand  Indians  had  been  slain,  the  greater  part  of  those 
who  remained  alive  had  been  sold  into  West  Indian  slavery, 
and  the  danger  to  the  colony  had  passed  away.  But  never 
were  public  rejoicings  more  deeply  tinged  with  regrets. 
The  out-settlements  were  ruined;  six  hundred  dwellings 
were  in  ashes;  the  accumulations  of  years  had  been  wasted; 
and  worst  of  all,  the  flower  of  Massachusetts'  manhood  — 
one-eleventh  of  all  her  able-bodied  men  —  had  been  cut 
off  untimely.  Every  family  in  the  colony  was  in  mourn 
ing. 


BY  THE  WATERS  OF  CHESAPEAKE 
BY  JOHN  WILLIAMSON   PALMER 

It  has  been  said,  not  unwisely,  of  this  bountiful  and 
accommodating  bay,  that  it  was  at  once  the  strength  and 
the  weakness  of  the  people  whom  the  fame  of  its  ways  of 
pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace,  had  attracted  to  habitation 
on  its  banks;  for  while  it  offered  them  prosperity  and 
independence  as  free  as  grace,  it  lulled  them  into  habits  of 
insouciance  and  recklessness,  made  them  improvident  in 
their  husbandry,  and  squandering  in  their  hospitalities. 
For  they  were  an  epitome  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men,  wherein  the  gentleman  took  his  heartiness  from  the 
yeoman,  and  the  yeoman  his  free-handedness  from  the 
gentleman,  and  both  their  pride  of  class  and  caste  from 
sturdy  British  stock,  jealous  for  its  traditions  and  its  ways. 
A  robust,  bluff  folk,  who  kept  their  democracy  alive  among 
themselves,  and  impressed  it  upon  all  comers  of  whatso 
ever  nationality  who  might  ask  for  room  and  range  among 
them,  to  make  free  with  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  the 
fishes  of  the  bay.  For  English  ideas  were  dominant,  and 
"  the  custom  of  the  country "  was  wholly  English  from 
the  day  that  Leonard  Calvert  set  up  his  standard  at  St. 
Mary's,1  and  while  the  theory  of  government  was  es- 

a(The  history  of  Maryland  owes  its  interest  not  so  much  to  striking 
events  as  to  the  continuity  of  old  English  institutions  and  ancient 
habits  of  local  self-government.  When  the  early  colonists  came  to 
Maryland  they  invented  no  administrative  or  judicial  methods.  The 
old  institutions  of  England  were  transplanted  to  Maryland  and  ac- 

2O 


By  the  Waters  of  Chesapeake  21 

sentially  aristocratic,  the  strength  in  the  best,  the  temper 
of  the  people  was  expressed  in  a  sturdy  democracy, 
grounded  in  common  sense  and 
good  digestion. 

To  this  day  the  Marylander  to 
the  manner  born  cherishes  with 
filial  piety  the  associations  that 
cling  to  johnny-cake  and  potato 
pudding;  he  has  never  been  rec 
onciled  to  the  gas-jet  or  the  reg 
ister,  and  fondly  insists  that  an 
open  wood-fire,  candles,  and  a 
warming-pan  are  the  true  sym 
bols  of  home. 

The  common  people  of  this  The  first  Lord  Baltimore, 
motley  colony  had  come  by  their  common  sense  "  nat 
urally,"  as  children  come  by  their  mumps  or  measles ;  they 
had  found  it  in  vicissitude  of  fortune,  in  various  hard 
ships,  in  oppression  and  contumely,  in  the  lot  of  the  rebel, 
the  convict,  and  the  felon.  There  were  those  among  them 
who  bore  the  brand  of  the  malefactor  on  the  palms  of 
their  hands,  and  others  with  the  brand  of  social  outcast- 
ing  seared  in  their  hearts.  The  prodigal  son  jostled  his 
elder  brother  on  the  deck  of  every  ship  that  cleared  from 
the  Mersey  or  the  Thames  to  let  go  her  anchor  in  the 
Severn  or  the  Chester. 

Maryland,   under  the   Baltimores,   was  the  only  colony 
that  admitted  convicts;  she  even  welcomed  them,  for  the 

climatized.  In  the  new  soil  they  were  modified  and  destroyed,  or  they 
were  modified  and  perpetuated ;  but  in  either  case  there  is  perfect 
continuity  between  the  institutions  of  colonial  Maryland  and  those 
of  the  older  country.)  John  Johnson,  A.B.,  in  "Old  Maryland 
Manors  " :  being  No.  vii  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in 
History. 


22 


By  the  Waters  of  Chesapeake  23 

labor  of  their  hands,  for  the  outcome  of  their  wits  and 
acquirements,  for  their  possibilities  of  rehabilitation.  The 
indentured  servant,  the  "  redemptioner,"  or  the  "  free- 
wilier,"  saw  at  the  end  of  his  five  or  six  years  of  servitude, 
"  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,"  his  fifty  acres  of 
land,  his  ax,  his  gun,  and  his  two  hoes,  besides  a  new  suit 
of  kersey,  with  stockings,  "  French-fall  shoes,"  and  a  new 
hat;  and  for  the  women  there  were  a  skirt  and  waistcoat 
of  penistone,  a  blue  apron,  a  linen  smock,  two  linen  caps, 
shoes  and  stockings,  and  three  barrels  of  Indian  corn.  As 
for  those  who  were  crimped  and  kidnapped  in  English 
ports,  and  carried  away  to  the  Chesapeake  to  toil  in  the 
tobacco-fields,  they  found  themselves  from  time  to  time  in 
company  as  choice  as  that  which  once  welcomed  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  quality  to  the  superfine  coteries  of  the  Fleet 
Prison. 

The  baronial  system  of  the  Baltimores,  which  contem 
plated  the  establishment  of  a  landed  aristocracy,  was  in 
the  strictest  sense  the  rule  of  the  landlord.  Tracts  of  from 
one  thousand  to  five  thousand  acres,  bordering  on  the 
bay,  were  erected  into  manors,  with  the  right  to  the  lords 
to  hold  courts-leet  and  courts-baron,  as  on  the  manors  of 
St.  Clement's  and  St.  Gabriel's.  In  this  class  we  find  the 
germ  of  a  nobility,  and  next  below  it  the  body  of  gentle 
men  planters,  "  citizens  of  credit  and  renown,"  from  whose 
ranks  were  chosen  the  justices  and  commissioners.  Last 
of  all,  the  tenants  on  the  small  manors,  styled  freeholders 
and  suitors,  and  addressed  as  "  Mr."  by  courtesy.  Davis  l 
describes  the  plantations  as  "  the  most  striking  feature  on 
the  face  of  society."  Hardly  a  home  or  a  tenement  that 

1  George  Lynn-Lachlan  Davis:     "The  Day-Star  of  American  Free 
dom."     1855. 


24      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

was  not  approached  by  water.  Here  were  held  the  earliest 
courts  and  councils;  governors,  privy  councilors,  judges, 
all  were  planters.  There  were  the  merchants,  too,  trading 
writh  London,  Liverpool,  and  other  English  ports.  "  And 


Satin  slipper  of  colonial  period. 

the  large  plantations,  with  their  groups  of  storehouses,  as 
sumed  the  aspect  and  discharged  the  functions  of  little 
towns."  But  the  spirit  of  the  age  was  knightly.  The 
progenitors  of  the  manorial  barons  of  Maryland  had  been 
gentlemen  by  virtue  of  their  swords  and  spurs;  letters  were 
in  slight  request  among  them.  Macaulay  tells  us  that  in 
England  many  lords  of  manors  had  hardly  learning  enough 
to  sign  a  mittimus.  And  so  our  Maryland  lords  of  the 
manor,  a  hundred  years  before  the  Revolutionary  War, 
were  commonly  gentlemen  who  made  their  marks  on  deeds 
and  records,  when  their  scriveners  and  servants  had  done 
the  vulgar  writing.  The  sword  was  the  symbol  of  dis 
tinction,  not  the  purse  or  the  pen;  and  those  unlettered 
gentlemen  were  not  the  less  conspicuous  in  council,  or 
courtly  in  the  assembly  of  dames,  because  they  could  not 
pen  a  nimble  compliment  or  write  themselves  "  Esquire." 

Two  or  three  generations  later  we  find  this  same  class 
educated,  and  solicitous  for  intellectual  acquirement,  proud 


By  the  Waters  of  Chesapeake          25 

of  their  imported  libraries  (for  the  most  part  comprehen 
sive  and  judiciously  selected),  and  sending  their  sons  to 
Oxford  or  Cambridge.  Nor  has  their  influence  been  at 
any  time  superseded  by  that  of  the  nouvcau.v  riches.'  In 
no  American  city  is  a  man's  bank-book  more  lightly 
esteemed,  or  more  grudgingly  accepted  as  a  social  pass 
port,  than  in  Baltimore  or  Annapolis. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  the  smart  and  handy 


Colonial  secretary. 

craft  of  the  Chesapeake  proceeded  to  show  that  they  could 
fight  as  well  as  trade,  and  the  port  of  Baltimore  soon  be 
came  the  center  of  a  system  of  privateering  so  formidable 


26       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

that  the  enemy  had  hardly  learned  to  respect  it  before  he 
began  to  fear  it.  The  records  show  that  between  April 
i,  1777,  and  March  14,  1783,  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
vessels  sailed  out  of  the  bay  under  letters  of  marque  — 
"  and  this  with  a  British  fleet  at  Hampton  Roads  and 
inside  the  Capes  nearly  all  the  time."  The  gallant 
Chasseur,  armed  with  twelve  guns,  manned  by  one  hun 
dred  officers  and  men  of  Maryland,  and  commanded  by 
Captain  Thomas  Boyle,  made  a  true  viking's  record,  cap 
turing  eighty  vessels,  of  which  thirty-two  were  of  equal 
force  with  the  privateer,  and  eighteen  superior  in  guns 
and  men. 

These  Chesapeake  privateers  and  letters  of  marque  were 
as  hornets  and  wasps  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  They 
fought  and  captured  ships  and  smaller  craft  at  the  very 
gates  of  his  ports,  in  the  British  and  Irish  channels,  off 
the  North  Cape,  on  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  in 
the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  1832,  in  Baltimore,  a  stage  started  from  Barnum's 
Hotel  daily  for  Philadelphia,  via  York,  Harrisburg,  and 
Lancaster;  but  the  route  most  approved  by  people  of  con 
dition  was  by  the  George  Washington  or  the  Constitution 
steamboat,  up  the  bay  to  Frenchtown ;  thence  by  frisky  little 
coaches  on  a  crazy  little  railroad  to  Newcastle  on  the  Dela 
ware  ;  and  thence  by  boat  again  to  Philadelphia  — "  through 
in  ten  hours."  This  was  the  route  which  was  especially 
affected  by  foreign  dignitaries,  Federal  officials,  senators 
and  representatives,  flitting  between  Washington  and  the 
North.  Those  were  famous  repasts  that  were  served  to 
distinguished  men  and  brilliant  women  at  the  captain's  table 
in  the  saloon  of  the  George  Washington.  Here  the  great 
"  Expounder  of  the  Constitution  "  hobnobbed  with  "  Harry 


By  the  Waters  of  Chesapeake  27 


f  the   West,"   and   talked   of   "  compromise  "    across   the 
eviled  crabs. 

The  gentry  of  colonial  Maryland,  under  the 
.lie  of  the  earlier  Cal verts,  lived  on  the  great 
lantations   in  dwellings  that  were   ac- 
sssible  by  water.     The  bay  and  rivers 
rere   almost  their  only  highways,   and 
le  obliterated  little  thorp  of  St.  Mary's, 
Dimcled  on  the  site  of  an  Indian  village, 
ras  their  only  city.     At  home  they  sat 
n  stools  and  forms  and  dined  without 
Drks,    cutting    their    meat    with    their    rapiers, 
ut  their  walls  were  wainscoted  and  their  cham- 
srs  comfortably  bedded. 

Tea  and  coffee  they  rarely  lasted,  and  sugar 
ras  a  luxury.  Cattle  stealing  was  not  in 
ishion ;  only  a  sheriff  in  tent  was  once  charged 
rith  the  offense,  while. a  governor  of  Virginia 
ras  convicted ;  neither  was  there  ever  an  execu- 
on  for  witchcraft  in  the  province  of  Maryland. 

While  the   colonists   of   New   England   com- 
lonly   dispensed   with  brick   and   stone   in   the 
Diistruction  of  their  snug  and   friendly  clomi- 
iles,   the   planters   of   Maryland   and   Virginia 
uilt   themselves    substantial   structures   of    im- 
orted   brick  and   aspired   to   architectural   dis- 
nctions.     One  to  the  manner  born   who   has 
Titten  with  loving  knowledge  of  these  solid 
nd  sincere  old  houses,  has  told  of  the  noble 
mining  of  the  roof;  of  the  deep,  capacious 
rindow   seats    and   hearthstones;   of    great   Watch  and  chain  of 
alls  that  greet  you  with  the  largest  wel- 


colonial  period. 


28       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

come;  of  stairs  that  glide  rather  than  climb  to  the  floor 
above  where  is  the  dancing  hall  .  .  .  and  without,  the 
arbor  and  dove-cote  and  the  prim  box-edged  garden,  with 
its  walks  so  decorous  and  Dutch-like,  but  gorgeous  with 
lilacs  and  snowballs,  hollyhocks  and  wallflowers. 

On  the  broad  porch  of  the  manor-house,  of  an  after 
noon,  the  planter  and  his  comely  dame  dozed  in  their  rock 
ing  chairs,  while  the  tall  clock  in  the  hall  ticked  with  the 
conscious  dignity  of  leisure. 


A  SETTLER  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 
BY  RICHARD  TOWNSEND   (1682) 

At  our  arrival  in  Pennsylvania  we  found  it  a  wilder- 
icss;  the  chief  inhabitants  \vere  Indians,  and  some  Szvedes; 
vho  received  us  in  a  friendly  manner:  and  though  there 
vas  a  great  number  of  us,  the  good  hand  of  Providence 
vas  seen  in  a  particular  manner ;  in  that  provisions  were 
ound  for  us,  by  the  Swedes,  and  Indians,  at  very  rea- 
onable  rates,  as  well  as  brought  from  divers  other  parts, 
hat  were  inhabited  before. 

Our  first  concern  was  to  keep  up  and  maintain  our  relig- 
ous  worship;  and,  in  order  thereunto,  we  had  several 
nectings,  in  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants;  and  one 
ioarded  meeting-house  was  set  up,  w^here  the  city  was  to 
>e,  near  Delaivare;  and,  as  we  had  nothing  but  love  and 
;ood-will,  in  our  hearts,  one  to  another,  we  had  very  com- 
ortable  meetings,  from  time  to  time;  and  after  our  meet- 
ng  was  over,  we  assisted  each  other,  in  building  little 
ouses,  for  our  shelter. 

After  some  time  I  set  up  a  mill  on  Chester  creek ;  which 

brought  ready  framed  from  London;  which  served  for 
rinding  of  corn,  and  sawing  of  boards;  and  was  of  great 
se  to  us.  Besides,  I,  with  Joshua  Tittery,  made  a  net, 
nd  caught  great  quantities  of  fish ;  which  supplied  our- 
elves  and  many  others;  so  that,  notwithstanding  it  was 
lought  near  three  thousand  persons  came  in  the  first  year, 
/e  were  so  providentially  provided  for,  that  we  could  buy 

29 


30       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

a  deer  for  about  two  shillings,  and  a  large  turkey,  for 
about  one  shilling,  and  Indian  corn  for  about  two  shillings 
and  six  pence  per  bushel. 

And,  as  our  worthy  Proprietor  (William  Penn)  treated 
the  Indians  with  extraordinary  humanity,  they  became  very 
civil  and  loving  to  us,  and  brought  in  abundance  of  veni 
son.  As,  in  other  countries,  the  Indians  were  exasperated 
by  hard  treatment,  which  hath  been  the  foundation  of  much 
bloodshed,  so  the  contrary  treatment  here  hath  produced 
their  love  and  affection. 

About  a  year  after  our  arrival,  there  came  in  about 
twenty  families  from  high  and  low  Germany,  of  religious, 
good  people ;  who  settled  about  six  miles  from  Philadelphia, 
and  called  the  place  Gcrmantown. —  The  country  con 
tinually  increasing,  people  began  to  spread  themselves 
further  back. — 

About  the  time,  in  which  Germantown  was  laid  out,  I 
settled  upon  my  tract  of  land,  which  I  had  purchased  of  the 
Proprietor,  in  England,  about  a  mile  from  thence;  where  I 
set  up  a  house  and  a  corn  mill ;  —  which  was  very  useful  to 
the  country,  for  several  miles  round  :  —  But  there  not  being 
plenty  of  horses,  people  generally  brought  their  corn  on 
their  backs  many  miles.  .  .  . 

As  people  began  to  spread,  and  improve  their  lands,  the 
country  became  more  fruitful;  so  that  those  who  came 
after  us,  were  plentifully  supplied;  and  with  what  we 
abounded  we  began  a  small  trade  abroad.  And  as  Phila 
delphia  increased,  vessels  wrere  built,  and  many  employed. 
Both  country  and  trade  have  been  wonderfully  increasing 
to  this  day;  (1682)  so  that,  from  a  wilderness,  the  Lord, 
by  his  good  hand  of  providence,  hath  made  it  a  fruitful 
field. 


THE  MANY-SIDED  FRANKLIN 
BY  PAUL  LEICESTER  FORD 

FAMILY  RELATIONS 

"  A  man,"  wrote  Franklin,  "  who  makes  boast  of  his 
ancestors  doth  but  advertise  his  own  insignificance,  for  the 
pedigrees  of  great  men  are  commonly  known  " ;  and  else 
where  he  advised:  "Let  our  fathers  and  grandfathers  be 
valued  for  their  goodness,  ourselves  for  our  own." 

Franklin's  inquiry  into  the  history  of  his  family  resulted 
in  the  discovery  that  they  had  dwelt  on  some  thirty  acres 
of  their  own  land  in  the  village  of  Ecton,  in  Northamp 
tonshire,  upward  of  three  hundred  years,  and  that  for 
many  generations  the  eldest  son  had  been  village  black 
smith  —  a  custom  so  established  previous  to  the  removal 
across  the  Atlantic  that  the  first  immigrant  bred  up  his 
eldest  son  to  the  trade  in  Boston.  Fate,  having  other  uses 
for  Benjamin,  carefully  guarded  him  from  Vulcan's  calling 
by  making  him  the  youngest  son  of  the  youngest  son  for 
five  generations. 

Benjamin,  the  "  tithe,"  or  tenth,  of  Josiah's  sons,  born 
January  6,  1706,  outlived  them  all.  From  his  father  he 
derived  a  heritage  difficult  to  measure,  but  two  of  his  qual 
ities  were  singled  out  by  the  son  as  specially  noteworthy: 
"  a  sound  understanding  and  solid  judgment  in  prudential 
matters,  both  in  private  and  publick  affairs,"  and  a  "  me 
chanic  genius  "  in  being  "  very  handy  in  the  use  of  other 

31 


32       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


tradesmen's  tools."     "  It  was  indeed  a  lowly  dwelling  we 
were  brought  up  in,"  wrote  one  of  the  children,  many  years 

after,  "  but  we  were  fed 
plentifully,  made  com 
fortable  with  fire  and 
clothing,  had  seldom  any 
contention  among  us,  but 
all  was  harmony,  espe 
cially  between  the  heads, 
and  they  were  universally 
respected,  and  the  most 
of  the  family  in  good 
reputation;  this  is  still 
happier  living  than  mul 
titudes  enjoy." 

As  this  might  indicate, 
Josiah  Franklin,  despite 
his  struggle  with  poverty  and  his  huge  family,  \vas  a  good 
parent  to  his  youngest  boy,  giving  heed  to  his  moral,  mental, 
and  temporal  beginnings.  After  such  brief  term  of  school 
as  he  could  afford  the  lad,  he  took  him  into  his  own  shop, 
till  Ben  made  obvious  his  dislike  to  the  cutting  of  wicks, 
the  hanging  of  dips,  and  the  casting  of  soap.  Taking  pains 
then  to  discover  his  son's  preferences,  he  finally  appren 
ticed  him  as  printer's  devil  to  his  son  James. 

Jane  and  Benjamin  outlived  all  their  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  Franklin,  upon  the  death  of  one  of  the  last,  said  to  her: 
"Of  these  thirteen  there  now  remain  but  three.  As  our 
number  diminishes,  let  our  affection  to  each  other  rather 
increase." 

At  seventeen  years  of  age  the  runaway  apprentice  had 
left  his  family;  from  that  time  he  saw  but  little  of  them. 


Franklin  seal. 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin  33 

As  agent  for  Pennsylvania,  and  as  minister  to  France, 
Franklin  was,  save  for  two  short  home-comings,  continu 
ously  in  Europe  from  1757  to  1785,  and  necessarily  sepa 
rated  from  his  wife,  and,  except  as  already  narrated,  from 
his  children  and  grandchildren.  Yet  of  all  his  kith  and  kin 
he  was  undoubtedly  truly  fond,  not  merely  as  relatives, 
but  as  companions,  and  not  to  one  does  he  seem  to  have 
been  lacking  in  interest  and  kindness. 

AS    POLITICIAN    AND    DIPLOMATIST 

"  The  first  mistake  in  public  business  is  the  going  into 
it,"  remarked  Poor  Richard,  and  the  worldly-wise  sage  was 
speaking  from  the  "  experience "  which  keeps  a  "  dear 
school,"  for  Franklin,  when  he  penned  the  sentence,  had 
been  over  twenty  years  a  public  servant.  The  admonition, 
however,  was  little  heeded,  for  he  continued  to  hold  office 
almost  unceasingly  to  the  end  of  his  days.  "  I  have  heard," 
he  said,  "of  some  great  man  whose  rule  it  was,  with  regard 
to  offices,  never  to  ask  for  them,  and  never  to  refuse  them; 
to  which  I  have  always  added,  in  my  own  practice,  never 
to  resign  them." 

Franklin's  entrance  into  politics  may  be  said  to  date  from 
his  beginning  to  print  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  for  he 
relates  :  "  The  leading  men,  seeing  a  newspaper  now  in  the 
hands  of  one  who  could  also  handle  a  pen,  thought  it  con 
venient  to  oblige  and  encourage  me,"  and  they  gave  him,  as 
already  told,  the  public  printing.  The  same  year  he  se 
cured  the  favor  of  the  populace  in  another  way.  "  About 
this  time  there  was  a  cry  among  the  people  for  more  paper 
money,"  and  Franklin,  taking  advantage  of  it,  "  wrote  and 
printed  an  anonymous  pamphlet  .  .  .  entitled  '  The 
Nature  and  Necessity  of  a  Paper-Currency/  "  which  "  was 


34 


The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


well  received  by  the  common  people  in  general ;  but  the  rich 
men  dislik'd  it,  for  it  increas'd  and  strengthen' d  the  clamor 
for  more  money,  and  they  happening  to  have  no  writers 
among  them  that  were  able  to  answer  it,  their  opposition 
slacken'd,  and  the  point  was  carried  by  a  majority  in  the 
House."  In  his  twenty  years'  active  labor  at  his  press,  the 
printer  succeeded  in  making  it  a  producer  of  wealth;  but 
at  this  time  he  had  yet  to  learn  the  lesson  that  value  is  made 
by  material  and  labor,  and  not  by  words  and  promises. 
Later  in  life  his  intercourse  with  Hume,  Price,  Turgot, 
Mirabeau,  and,  most  of  all,  with  Adam  Smith,  who  sub 
mitted  each  chapter  of 
his  "  Wealth  of  Na 
tions,"  "  as  he  composed 
it,"  to  Franklin  for  dis 
cussion  and  criticism, 
opened  his  eyes  to  the 
truths  that  every  paper 
dollar  issued  banishes  or 
takes  out  of  circulation 
a  metal  one,  so  long  as 
there  is  one  left,  and 
that  beyond  that,  how 
ever  the  printing-presses 
may  be  worked,  there 
will  be  no  more  money, 
the  total  value  of  the 
mass  decreasing  as  rap 
idly  as  the  volume  is 
swelled,  and  in  excessive 

issues    tending    even    to 
Franklin's   monumen^his   parents,       faH  SQ  sharply  ag  tQ  prQ. 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin  35 

duce  an  actual  contraction,  not  augmentation,  in  the  stand 
ard  of  value.  "  I  lament  with  you,"  he  told  a  friend,  in 
speaking  of  the  Continental  currency,  "  the  many  mischiefs, 
the  injustice,  the  corruption  of  manners,  etc.,  that  attended 
a  depreciating  currency.  It  is  some  consolation  to  me,  that 
I  washed  my  hands  of  that  evil  by  predicting  it  in  Congress, 
and  proposing  means  that  would  have  been  effectual  to 
prevent  it,  if  they  had  been  adopted. 

"  I  now  began,"  Franklin  relates,  "  to  turn  my  thoughts 
a  little  to  public  affairs,"  and  in  succession  set  about  meth 
ods  for  bettering  the  city  watch,  the  fire  service,  and  some 
what  later,  the  cleaning  and  paving  of  the  streets.  In 
1737,  as  already  told,  he  was  made  postmaster  of  Philadel 
phia,  which  brought  him  forward  yet  more  prominently. 
But  most  of  all  it  was  his  pamphlet,  "  Plain  Truth,"  which, 
though  it  "  bore  somewhat  hard  on  both  parties  .  . 
had  the  happiness  not  to  give  much  offense  to  either,"  that 
may  be  said  to  have  made  a  public  man  of  him. 

From  his  election  to  the  Assembly  dates  the  real  begin 
ning  of  Franklin  as  a  political  influence,  yet  in  a  very  brief 
space  of  time  he  made  himself  one  of  the  dominant  factors. 
Entering  the  arena  on  the  question  of  public  defense,  he 
was  quickly  in  opposition  to  the  Penn  brothers,  the  propri 
etors  of  the  colony,  the  moot  point  being  the  question  of 
taxing  the  proprietary  lands. 

Warmly  attached  as  Franklin  was  to  Pennsylvania,  he 
seems  never  to  have  been  swayed  by  local  interests,  as  was 
so  common  in  his  time.  As  early  as  1751  he  foresaw  that 
a  union  of  the  colonies  was  necessary,  and  was  thinking  out 
methods  for  overcoming  provincial  prejudices  and  antipa 
thies,  while  marveling  that  the  "  Six  Nations'  of  ignorant 
savages  should  be  capable  of  forming  a  scheme  for  such  an 


36       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

union,  and  be  able  to  execute  it  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  it 
has  subsisted  ages,  and  appears  indissoluble;  and  yet  that  a 
like  union  should  be  impracticable  for  ten  or  a  dozen  Eng 
lish  colonies,  to  whom  it  is  more  necessary  and  must  be 
more  advantageous,  and  who  cannot  be  supposed  to  want 
an  equal  understanding  of  their  interests." 

Franklin  was  a  warm  partizan  of  the  connection  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies.  Even  after  the  Stamp  and 
Revenue  acts  should  have  shown  him  how  selfishly  bent  on 
her  own  narrow  interest  the  mother-country  was,  he 
ascribed  those  measures  solely  to  a  corrupt  Parliament,  and 
expressed  the  hope  that  "  nothing  that  has  happened,  or 
may  happen,  will  diminish  in  the  least  our  loyalty  to  our 
Sovereign,  or  affection  for  this  nation  in  general."  Thus 
he  wrote  when  America  was  ablaze  with  opposition  to  the 
parliamentary  acts,  but  still  he  could  assert : 

And  yet  there  remains  among  the  people  so  much  respect, 
veneration,  and  affection  for  Britain,  that,  if  cultivated  prudently, 
with  a  kind  usage  and  tenderness  for  their  privileges,  they  might 
be  easily  governed  still  for  ages,  without  force  or  any  considerable 
expense.  But  I  do  not  see  here  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  wisdom 
that  is  necessary  to  produce  such  a  conduct,  and  I  lament  the 
want  of  it. 

In  answer  to  the  charge  that  the  colonies  desired  inde 
pendence,  he  replied :  "  The  Americans  have  too  much 
love  for  their  mother-country." 

'  This  people,  however,  is  too  proud,  and  too  much 
despises  the  Americans,  to  bear  the  thought  of  admitting 
them  to  such  an  equitable  participation  in  the  government 
of  the  whole."  "  Every  man  in  England,"  he  complained, 
"  seems  to  consider  himself  a  piece  of  a  sovereign  over 


Franklin  landing  at  Market  Street  wharf,  Philadelphia,  on  his  return 
from  France,   1785. 


38       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

America;  seems  to  jostle  himself  into  the  throne  with  the 
King,  and  talks  of  our  subjects  in  the  colonies,"  and  with 
real  indignation  he  charged  that  "  angry  writers  use  their 
utmost  efforts  to  persuade  us  that  this  \var  with  the  colo 
nies  (for  a  war  it  will  be)  is  a  national  cause,  when  in  fact 
it  is  a  ministerial  one."  The  British,  he  maintained,  "  have 
no  idea  that  any  people  can  act  from  any  other  principle 
but  that  of  interest;  and  they  believe  that  three  pence  in 
a  pound  of  tea,  of  which  one  does  perhaps  drink  ten  pounds 
in  a  year,  is  sufficient  to  overcome  all  the  patriotism  of  an 
American." 

If  but  the  people  could  be  kept  quiet  for  a  time,  Frank 
lin  held,  the  outcome  could  not  be  doubtful.  "  It  must  be 
evident,"  he  affirmed,  "  that  by  our  rapidly  increasing 
strength,  we  shall  soon  become  of  so  much  importance 
that  none  of  our  just, claims  of  privilege  will  be,  as  here 
tofore,  unattended  to,  nor  any  security  we  can  wish  for  our 
rights  be  denied  us." 

However  much  he  might  counsel  moderate  opposition  and 
even  temporary  submission,  he  did  so  because  he  believed 
it  the  most  certain  way  of  obtaining  justice  from  Great 
Britain,  and  not  because  he  thought  her  conduct  either  pru 
dent  or  justifiable.  Long  before  the  attempt  to  tax  the  col 
onies,  and*,  so  far  as  known,  before  any  other  American 
had  protested  against  such  a  course,  he  claimed  that  "  It  is 
supposed  to  be  an  undoubted  right  of  Englishmen  not  to  be 
taxed  but  by  their  own  consent  given  through  their  repre 
sentatives." 

How  strongly  he  felt  the  rights  of  his  native  land  was 
shown  by  something  else  he  wrote  at  this  time,  in  which 
he  asserted  that : 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin  39 

I  can  only  judge  of  others  by  myself.  I  have  some  little  prop 
erty  in  America.  I  will  freely  spend  nineteen  shillings  in  the 
pound  to  defend  the  right  of  giving  or  refusing  the  other  shilling, 
and,  after  all,  if  I  cannot  defend  that  right,  I  can  retire  cheerfully 
with  my  little  family  into  the  boundless  woods  of  America,  which 
are  sure  to  afford  freedom  and  subsistence  to  any  man  who  can 
bait  a  hook  or  pull  a  trigger. 

As  Franklin  had  been  among  the  first  to  suggest  a  union 
of  the  colonies  under  Great  Britain,  so  he  was  foremost 
in  advocating  their  immediate  union  in  their  contest  with 
the  mother-country;  and  long  before  the  majority  of  Con 
gress  saw  the  wisdom  of  the  purpose,  or  were  even  willing 
to  consider  it,  he  drafted  and  laid  before  that  body  his 
Articles  of  Confederation,  the  first  true  step  toward  a 
national  union.  In  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania,  too,  he 
wielded  a  most  dominating  influence,  for  it  was  chiefly 
through  his  exertions  that  the  old  Penn  charter  was  abro 
gated,  and  a  new  republican  constitution  obtained  in  its  stead. 

Vital  as  were  his  labors  in  local  politics,  in  the  Congress, 
in  Canada,  at  Cambridge,  and  at  Staten  Island,  he  was  more 
needed,  and  in  fact  seems  to  have  been  preordained  by  na 
ture  and  training,  for  another  service.  Once  the  war,  from 
being  an  attempt  to  \vrest  rights  from  an  acknowledged 
sovereign,  became  a  conflict  to  maintain  independence,  the 
new-formed  country  turned  for  assistance  to  France,  then 
the  great  enemy  of  Britain.  Almost  alone  of  the  con 
gressmen,  Franklin  had  traveled  in  that  country,  and  had 
both  friends  and  repute  there.  Even  more  important,  how 
ever,  was  the  fact  that  already  semi-approaches  had  been 
made  to  him  by  those  in  authority.  Years  before,  when 
the  excitement  over  the  new  doctrine  of  colonial  taxation 


40       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

was  sounding  a  warning  which  the  British  people  would 
not  hear,  there  were  others  quick  to  heed  the  murmur  of 
discontent  and  complaint,  and  to  recognize  in  it  a  means 
for  injuring  their  foe  as  they  had  never  yet  been  able  to 
do. 

When  Franklin  was  sailing  across  the  Atlantic,  one  of 
three  commissioners  sent  to  beg  the  aid  of  France,  an  Eng 
lish  friend  chided  him  for  disloyalty.  He  replied : 

I  was  fond  to  a  folly  of  our  British  connections,  and  it  was 
with  infinite  regret  that  I  saw  the  necessity  you  would  force  us 
into  of  breaking  it.  But  the  extreme  cruelty  with  which  we  have 

been  treated  has  now  ex 
tinguished  every  thought 
of  returning  to  it,  and 
separated  us  for  ever. 
You  have  thereby  lost 
limbs  that  will  never 
grow  again. 


T 


A     MODES 


Nature  and 


OF     A 


.  •  '  ••— — —  Quid  afar 

*ftik  Nvxiwts  babet  ;  patri^,  ctarifa:  p-, 
Quantum  e/argiri  dtctat.      - — V 


Pen: 


Pi-inrcd  and  So!d  at  the  New  PRINTING- 
OFFICE,  .near  the  Market. 

;<- 


It  has  been  said  of 
Franklin  by  the  his 
torian  of  American  di 
plomacy  that  he  must 
be  considered  the  one 
true  diplomat  America 
has  ever  produced ;  and 
when  his  services,  and 
the  circumstances  un 
der  which  they  were 
rendered,  are  weighed, 
the  statement  seems 
justifiable.  Almost  from 
the  moment  of  his  ar- 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin 


What  is  Sauce  tor  a  Goofc  is  allb  Sauct  for  a  Gander 

BEING 
A  ftnall  Touch  in  the  L  A  P  i  D  A  R  Y  Wiy, 

O   R 
I  TIT   for  TAT,  in  your  own  Way. 


IAN  EPITAPH 

On  a  certain  great  Man. 
Written  by  a  departed  Spirit  arid  now 

[Moft  humbly  infcrib'd  to  al)  his  dutiful  Sons   and  Children 
Who  may  hereafter  chofe  to  diftinguiih  him  by  the  Name  of 

A    PATRIOT. 

j  Dear,  CHILDREN, 

I  fend  y*u  here  a  little  Book 
For  you  to  look  upon, 
That  you  may  fee  your  Poppy's  Face 
When  he  is  deau  and  gone. 


rival  in  Paris,  he 
came  to  exercise  an 
influence  with  the 
then  French  ministry 
which  can  hardly  be 
exaggerated. 

AS  WRITER  AND  JOUR 
NALIST' 

Franklin's  grand 
father  on  the  mater 
nal  side,  and  his  uncle, 
were  both  confirmed 
scribblers  of  rime,  and 
therefore  it  was  seem 
ingly  preordained  by 
heritage  and  by  ex 
ample  that  he  should 
write. 

On  a  March  night 
in  the  year  1722,  or 
when  the  lad  was  six 
teen  years  of  age,  he 
slipped  a  paper  under  Political  pamphlet  against  Franklin. 

the  door  of  what  James  Franklin  advertised  as  his  "  Print- 
ing-House  over  against  Mr.  Sheaf's  School,  near  the  Pris 
on,"  and  then  stole  away.  The  next  day,  as  the  apprentice 
stood  at  his  type-case,  he  could  hear  his  brother  consulting 
with  the  "  ingenious  men  among  his  friends,  who  amus'd 
themselves  by  writing  little  pieces  "  for  the  paper,  as  to  who 
could  be  the  author  of  the  sheets  with  the  humble  signature 
of  "  Silence  Dogood,"  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  his  pride 


tliau  baft  taugBt  in  tvftiA  Evil  gf  Dignities. 


PHILADELPHIA,  printed  in  the  Year    1764. 


42       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

when  he  heard  the  essay  praised  by  them;  when  the  piece 
appeared  in  all  the  glory  of  type  in  the  New  England 
C  our  ant,  and  when  his  eye  met  the  notice  in  the  same  issue 
that  "  As  the  favour  of  Mrs.  Dogood's  Correspondence  is 
acknowledged  by  the  Publisher  of  this  Paper,  lest  any  of 
her  Letters  should  miscarry,  he  desires  they  may  be  de- 
liver'd  at  his  Printing-Office,  or  at  the  Blue  Balls  in  Union 
street,  and  no  questions  will  be  ask'd  of  the  Bearer." 

The  wandering  life  of  the  runaway  apprentice  gave  slight 
opportunity  for  the  cultivation  of  his  pen-talent,  and,  save 
for  his  little  "  wicked  tract,"  the  succeeding  years  were 
lean  ones  in  production.  But  once  Franklin  was  estab 
lished  in  Philadelphia  as  a  printer,  the  tendency  to  write 
redeveloped,  and  proved  of  real  service  to  him.  In  the 
first  year  of  the  new  firm  he  wrote  a  little  pamphlet  on  a 
local  issue,  entitled,  "  The  Nature  and  Necessity  of  a  Paper 
Currency,"  and  the  opposition  "  happening  to  have  no  wri 
ters  among  them  that  were  able  to  answer  it*"  the  party 
in  favor  of  an  issue  of  paper  money  carried  their  point  in 
the  Assembly.  "  My  friends  there,  who  conceiv'd  that  I 
had  been  of  some  service,  thought  fit  to  reward  me  by  em 
ploying  me  in  printing  the  money;  a  very  profitable  jobb 
and  a  great  help  to  me.  This  was  another  advantage  gain'd 
by  my  being  able  to  write." 

Franklin's  share  in  the  Gazette  was  far  more  than 
gathering  news.  The  editorial  was  a  yet  unknown  feature 
of  journalism,  but  he  often  added  to  his  items  little  com 
ments  or  explanations.  When  there  was  an  empty  column, 
he  wrote  an  essay,  letter,  poem,  or  anything  else  to  fill  it. 
Forestalling  modern  journalism,  he  asked  a  question,  and 
then  proceeded  to  answer  it  at  length. 

Far  more  than  a  good  style  went  to  make  up  Franklin's 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin 


43 


or    DIE. 


success  as  a  writer.     Poor   Richard  had   distinct  literary 

ease;  he  was  never  at  a  loss  for  an  aphorism,  simile,  or 

story  to  illustrate  or  strengthen  an  argument;  could  take 

another  man's  idea  and  improve  upon  it;  could  refute  a 

whole  argument  by  a  dozen  words 

scribbled  in  the  margin,  and  imitate 

other  and  bygone  styles  of  writing 

at  will.     On  this  facility  he  drew 

heavily  as  he  stepped   into   public 

life. 

The  stock  argument  of  the  Eng-  Print  b^  Franklin, 
lish  writers  who  maintained  that  Parliament  possessed  su 
preme  authority  over  America  was  that  the  colonists,  had 
they  remained  in  Great  Britain,  would  have  been  absolutely 
subject  to  its  laws,  and  that  emigration  had  not  changed 
this  condition.  To  show  the  utter  absurdity  of  this  claim, 
Franklin  drafted  what  purported  to  be  an  edict  of  the 
Prussian  king,  which  began  in  due  form,  "  Frederic  by  the 
Grace  of  God,  King  of  Prussia,  etc,  etc,  etc.,"  and  then 
continued : 

Whereas  it  is  well  known  to  all  the  world,  that  the  first  German 
settlements  made  in  the  Island  of  Britain,  were  by  colonies  of 
people,  subject  to  our  renowned  ducal  ancestors,  and  drawn  from 
their  dominions,  under  the  conduct  of  Hengist,  Horsa,  Hella,  Uffa, 
Cerdicus,  Ida,  and  others:  and  that  the  said  colonies  have  flour 
ished  under  the  protection  of  our  august  house  for  ages  past; 
have  never  been  emancipated  therefrom ;  and  yet  have  hitherto 
yielded  little  profit  to  the  same ;  and  whereas  we  ourself  have  in 
the  last  war  fought  for  and  defended  the  said  colonies,  against 
the  power  of  France,  and  thereby  enabled  them  to  make  conquests 
from  the  said  power  in  America,  for  which  we  have  not  yet  received 
adequate  compensation ;  and  whereas  it  is  just  and  expedient  that 
a  revenue  should  be  raised  from  the  said  colonies  in  Britain, 


44      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

towards  our  indemnification;  and  that  those  who  are  descendants 
of  our  ancient  subjects,  and  thence  still  owe  us  due  obedience, 
should  contribute  to  the  replenishing  of  our  royal  coffers  (as 
they  must  have  done,  had  their  ancestors  remained  in  the  terri 
tories  now  to  us  appertaining)  ;  we  do  therefore  hereby  ordain 
and  command,  that,  from  and  after  the  date  of  these  presents, 
there  shall  be  levied  and  paid  to  our  officers  of  the  customs,  on 
all  goods,  wares,  and  merchandises,  and  on  all  grain  and  other 
produce  of  the  earth,  exported  from  the  said  Island  of  Britain, 
and  on  all  goods  of  whatever  kind  imported  into  the  same,  a  duty 
of  four  and  a  half  per  cent  ad  valorem,  for  the  use  of  us  and 
our  successors. 

The  edict,  its  author  affirmed,  was  written  to  attract  at 
tention  by  its  "  out-of-the-way  "  form  as  "  most  likely  to 
take  the  general  attention,"  and  in  this  it  was  an  entire  suc 
cess.  It  was  printed  in  the  Public  Advertiser,  and  Frank 
lin  wrote  a  friend  that  he  could  not  send  him  one,  he- 
cause  "  though  my  clerk  went  the  next  morning  to  the 
printer's  and  wherever  they  were  sold,"  the  edition  of  the 
paper  had  been  exhausted.  In  consequence,  the  piece  was 
reprinted  by  request  in  a  subsequent  issue,  and  was  gener 
ally  reprinted  in  other  papers  and  in  the  magazines.  "  I 
am  not  suspected  as  the  author,"  the  cozener  told  a  corre 
spondent,  "  except  by  one  or  two  friends ;  and  we  have 
heard  the  latter  spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms,  as  the  keen 
est  and  severest  piece  that  has  appeared  here  for  a  long 
time.  Lord  Mansfield,  I  hear,  said  of  it,  that  it  was  very 
ABLE  and  very  ARTFUL  indeed;  and  would  do  mischief 
by  giving  here  a  bad  impression  of  the  measures  of  govern 
ment  ;  and  in  the  colonies,  by  encouraging  them  in  their 
contumacy.  .  .  .  What  made  it  the  more  noticed  here, 
was  that  people  in  reading  it  were,  as  the  phrase  is,  taken 
in,  till  they  had  got  half  through  it,  and  imagined  it  a  real 


The  Many-Sided  Franklin  45 

edict,  to  which  mistake  I  suppose  the  king  of  Prussia's 
character  must  have  contributed." 

The  autobiography,  the  most  famous  of  all  his  writings, 
is  of  peculiar  interest,  not  merely  as  a  story  of  his  life,  but 
because  it  is  his  only  real  endeavor  to  write  a  book. 

To  judge  Franklin  from  the  literary  standpoint  is  neither 


i.  And  it  came   to    pafs   afier    thefe 

do  not  worfhip  thy  God,  neither  do  1  call 

things,  that  Abraham  fat  in  the  door  of 

opon  his  name;   for  I  have    made    to 

his  tent,  about  the  going  down  of  the  fun. 
2.  And  behold  a  man  bent  with  age. 

myfeif  a  god  which  abide*  always   in 
mine  houfe,  and  provideth  me  with   all 

coming  from  the  way  of  the  wildernefc 

•     togs.- 

leaning  on  a  ftaff. 

8.  And  Abraham's  zeal  WM  kindled  a-                                     JR 

3.  And  Abraham  arofe,  and  met  him. 

pinft  the  man,  and  he  arofe,   and  M' 

and  faid  unto  him.  Turn  in,  I  pray  the*. 

upon  hin,  and  drove  him  forth  -v!th  llo*-. 

and  walk  thy  feet,  and  tarry  all  niglit;  and 
thou  (hall  arife  early  in  the  morning,  and 

-into  -he  wildernds, 
9.  An-i  God  called  unto  Abraham,  fcy. 

go  on  thy  way 
4.  And  the  man  faid,  Nay  :  tor  I  ~i!l  a 

ing.  Abraham,  where  is  the  granger  ? 

TO.   .'.in'   Ahr.iVim  anfwcrcd  w»l  tf.i-  ,                     '      • 

5,  But  Abraham  prefled  him  greatlv  : 

TOM  lie  cafl  u(*n  thy  name  ;  tberefor* 

and  Abraham   baited   unleavened    bread. 

face  into  we  *ild-mcfs. 

I 

and  they  did  rat 

:i.  And  God  'iid,  Have   1   borr.e   ^Ui 

6.  And  when  Abraham  faw  that  the 

liira  thefe  hurdrcd  and  niiw:ty  a-id  cijhi 

man  bleffed  not  God,  he  faid  unto  him. 

yc.iri,  and  nourifried  hi.n,   and  cioithcd 

m 

Wherefore  doft  thou  not  worihip  the  moft 

• 

high  God,  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  ? 
7.  And  the  man  anfwpred  and  faid,  1 

.tar  t,  .-  -.vithl,^  ore  night'  .  '' 

9 

1 

1 

—  JJ 

Franklin's  fictitious  chapter  of  the  Bible  usually  styled  a  parable 
against  persecution. 

easy  nor  quite  fair.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  as  a  philos 
opher,  as  a  statesman,  and  as  a  friend,  he  owed  much  of 
his  success  to  his  ability  as  a  writer.  His  letters  charmed 
all,  and  made  his  correspondence  eagerly  sought.  His  po 
litical  arguments  were  the  joy  of  his  party  and  the  dread 
of  his  opponents.  His  scientific  discoveries  were  explained 
in  language  at  once  so  simple  and  so  clear  that  plow-boy 


46       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

and  exquisite  could  follow  his  thought  or  his  experiment 
to  its  conclusion.  Yet  he  was  never  a  literary  man  in  the 
true  and  common  meaning  of  the  term.  Omitting  his  un 
completed  autobiography  and  his  scientific  writings,  there  is 
hardly  a  line  of  his  pen  which  was  not  privately  or  anony 
mously  written,  to  exert  a  transient  influence,  fill  an  empty 
column,  or  please  a  friend.  The  larger  part  of  his  work 
was  not  only  done  in  haste,  but  never  revised  or  even  proof 
read.  Yet  this  self-educated  boy  and  busy,  practical  man 
gave  to  American  literature  the  most  popular  autobiogra 
phy  ever  written,  a  series  of  political  and  social  satires 
that  can  bear  comparison  with  those  of  the  greatest  sati 
rists,  a  private  correspondence  as  readable  as  Walpole's  or 
Chesterfield's;  and  the  collection  of  Poor  Richard's  epi 
grams  has  been  oftener  printed  and  translated  than  any 
other  production  of  an  American  pen. 
Yet  Franklin  himself  asserted: 

He  that  can  compose  himself,   is  wiser  than  he  that   composes 
books. 


PHILADELPHIA 
BY  TALCOTT  WILLIAMS 

States  and  cities  exist  to  make  families  comfortable,  be 
cause  this  makes  children  comfortable.  Unless  the  chil 
dren  are  comfortable  now,  the  next  generation  will  fare  ill. 
If  you  are  comfortably  seated;  if  you  have  light  enough  on 
these  lines ;  if  the  air  about  you  is  pure ;  if  you  find  the  house 
you  are  in  a  true  home,  be  it  large  or  small;  if  the  street  is 
safe  for  yon  at  all  hours  of  the  day  or  evening;  if  it  is,  as 
nearly  as  may  be,  like  a  village  street,  quiet  and  clean,  and 
not  like  a  city  street,  noisy  and  noisome;  if  there  is  room 
for  you  to  play  outside  the  house,  and  room  inside  its  walls 
to  amuse  yourself;  if  you  are  fed  and  warm,  and  happy  - 
above  all,  if  you  feel  in  your  house  an  atmosphere  of 
security,  and  understand  in  a  dim  way  that  father  and 
mother  own  the  spot  called  home  and  are  safe  there,  then, 
as  far  as  you  are  concerned, —  and  to  the  extent  that  this  is 
true  as  far  as  all  children  are  concerned, —  the  United 
States  is  a  success.  Unless  there  are  a  great  many  more  of 
you  children  enjoying  all  I  have  said  than  are  without  such 
comforts,  then  the  United  States  is  a  failure,  no  matter 
how  big,  or  how  rich,  or  how  populous  it  may  be,  or  how 
glorious  its  history.  The  United  States  is  here  first,  and 
.chiefly,  not  to  make  history,  as  you  might  imagine  from  your 
school  histories,  but  to  make  families  and  their  children 
comfortable  in  houses  of  their  own.  Failing  to  do  that,  it 
fails  in  all. 

47 


48       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Philadelphia  in  1720. 

I  propose  to  tell  you  of  a  city  which  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years  has  grown  so  as  to  make  families  more  and 
more  comfortable;  so  as  to  set  each  in  its  own  house;  so  as 
to  make  life  easier  and  easier  for  the  average  ordinary 
family  which  is  neither  rich  nor  poor,  which  wins  its  way 
by  work,  owns  the  roof  over  its  head,  and  stands  secure  in 
modest,  unquestioned  independence.  Philadelphia  is  a 
dingy  city  by  the  side  of  Paris;  it  is  outdone  by  most  of  the 
world's  centers  in  all  by  which  the  \vorld  reckons  greatness ; 
but  no  city  that  is,  or  ever  was,  has  done  more  to  make 
families,  and  therefore  children,  comfortable. 

Philadelphia  came  late  among  American  cities.  It  was 
founded  58  years  after  New  York,  50  years  after  Boston. 
The  voyage  had  few  risks,  and  no  suffering.  William 
Penn,  in  1681,  came  on  no  exploring  expedition.  For  al 
most  the  first  time  in  history,  a  new  city  was  to  be  laid  out 
by  amicable  purchase,  and  not  by  conquest.  We  are  used 
to  this  now.  It  was  an  altogether  new  thing  two  hundred 
years  ago.  The  day  for  Indian  fighting  along  the  coast  was 
practically  over.  The  sea-coast  was  known.  There  were 
no  discoveries  to  be  made.  The  land  was  secure.  Eng 
land  held  it  without  a  rival.  The  little  Dutch  and  Swedish 
settlements  on  Delaware  Bay,  and  Philadelphia's  future 
site,  were  glad  to  come  under  the  English  flag.  Almost 
the  only  trace  left  of  either  is  the  Swedes'  church,  the  oldest 


Philadelphia 


49 


in  the  city,  for  all  the  world  like  those  you  may  see  on 
Swedish  fiords  to-day. 

Penn  sat  in  London  over  maps  and  plans,  and  laid  out  his 
new  city  on  paper  just  as  "  boom  "  towns  are  laid  out  to 
day  in  the  West  and  South.  He  knew  the  ground.  He 
understood  its  advantages.  No  seaboard  river  carried  navi 
gation  so  far  inland.  The  Southern  rivers  were  shallower. 


Old  map  of  Pennsylvania. 


50       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

The  Hudson  ended  in  impenetrable  forest.  On  the  Dela 
ware  vessels  stopped  between  the  fattest  fields  along  the 
whole  coast.  The  very  soil  of  the  narrow  peninsula  be 
tween  the  Delaware  and  the  Schuylkill  is  the  only  fertile 


Old  Swedish  church. 

city  site  on  our  coast.  It  lies  far  enough  south  to  gain  the 
teeming  life  of  fin  and  feather  that  fills  the  coasts  and 
waters  of  the  south  Atlantic.  You  can  still  stand  on  the 
steps  of  Independence  Hall  on  a  still  October  day,  and  hear 
the  crack  of  fowling-pieces  among  the  reed-birds  on  the 
river. 

Within  the  memory  of  men  not  old  the  chief  meat-sup- 


Philadelphia  51 

ply  of  the  city  was  fattened  on  the  flat  rich  farms  which 
make  up  the  "  neck  "  where  the  Delaware  and  the  Schuyl- 
kill  meet.  The  land  around  Philadelphia  is  to-day  a  vast 
kitchen-garden.  It  always  has  raised  more  food  than  any 
area  as  large  around  any  other  of  our  great  or  growing 
cities.  Lastly,  just  beyond  these  two  rich  river  valleys  lie 
the  first  Western  wheat-fields,  in  the  fertile  stretch  of  Dela 
ware,  Chester,  Montgomery,  and  Lancaster  counties. 

The  farms  of  these  counties  fed  the  army  of  Washing 
ton.  His  baker-general  was  a  Pennsylvania  German, 
Christopher  Ludwig,  who  after  a  youth  spent  in  fighting  the 
Turk  on  the  Danube,  sold  gingerbread  to  the  boys  of  the 
Revolution,  in  Letitia  Street.  Beginning  by  baking  bread 
at  Valley  Forge,  he  ended  by  baking  six  thousand  pound- 
loaves  for  the  surrendered  army  of  Cornwallis  at  York- 
town.  Uncle  Sam's  wheat-farm,  which  has  cheapened  the 
world's  bread,  began  at  the  doors  of  Philadelphia.  It  was 
the  first  city  to  get  rich  selling  wheat.  Pennsylvania  farms 
gave  it  the  first  big,  rich,  thickly  settled  "  back-country,"  on 
whose  trade  an  American  city  grew  great.  Under  the  first 
President  Adams,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  was  the  biggest  American 
city  back  of  the  sea-coast.  In  1890  instead  of  the  first  it 
was  the  sixty-first  of  such  cities  in  population. 

All  this  meant  foreign  trade  and  swift  growth  for  Phila 
delphia.  In  its  first  forty  years  it  grew  faster  than  any 
other  American  city  in  its  first  hundred.  It  was  the 
Chicago  of  the  last  century.  In  twenty  years  2500  houses 
went  up.  The  like  was  never  seen  before.  It  has  often 
happened  since.  Money  was  made  easily.  A  bright  boy 
of  seventeen  like  Benjamin  Franklin  could  walk  up  Market 
Street  in  1723  with  two  loaves  of  bread  under  his  arm,  and 
brains  in  his  head,  and  in  fifteen  years  become  rich.  Five 


52       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Portrait  of   William   Perm   in  his 
twenty-second  year. 


years  later  he  had  retired 
from  business,  and  had 
begun  flying  the  kite,  the 
spark  from  whose  string 
told  the  world  that  elec 
tricity  and  lightning  were 
one.  In  a  town  given 
to  money-making,  he 
stopped  money-making  at 
forty  years  of  age  and 
did  something  better  — 
he  served  his  fellowmen : 
He  made  scientific  discov 
eries  ;  he  invented  a  new 
stove ;  he  got  together  the 
first  American  scientific 
society ;  he  started  a  fire-company ;  he  organized  the  Phila 
delphia  police ;  he  founded  a  library ;  he  helped  start  a 
university;  he  turned  men's  thoughts  to  books,  study,  and 
knowledge.  When  the  Revolution  came  he  was  old  and 
rich.  He  put  all  at  stake  in  his  country's  service.  He  was 
the  only  American  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  and  the  Constitution.  He 
gave  Philadelphia  the  one  other  thing  which  makes  cities 
great :  in  him  a  great  man  had  walked  her  streets. 

Franklin's  fortune  was  not  the  only  one  made  in  Phila 
delphia,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  in  a  trade  as  large 
as  that  of  any  two  other  American  cities.  Fifty  years  after 
Philadelphia  was  founded,  it  built  the  largest  public  build 
ing  any  American  city  had  ever  erected,  the  State  House, 
now  Independence  Hall,- —  as  it  has  to-day,  in  its  city  hall, 
the  most  costly.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  is- 


Philadelphia  53 

sued  from  the  Pennsylvania  State  House  because  it  was 
natural  for  the  Continental  Congress  to  meet  in  the  largest, 
the  wealthiest,  and  the  most  thriving  of  American  cities, 
and  to  sit  in  the  most  imposing  building  in  the  thirteen 
colonies.  It  was  not  until  the  Erie  Canal  gave  New  York 
the  trade  of  the  West  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  that  it  be 
came  a  larger  city  than  Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia,  first  of  American  cities,  received  people 
skilled  in  all  the  crafts  of  central  Europe,  which  two  cen 
turies  ago  was  ahead  of  England  in  making  things.  It  is 
not  now.  If  you  will  open  your  Physical  Geography  at 
the  map  of  Europe,  you  will  see  a  deep  groove  right  down 
the  Rhine  to  Lake  Constance,  and  then  by  the  Rhone  to  the 


Penn's  house  in  Letitia  Court. 

Mediterranean,  while  another  groove  runs  east  by  the  Dan 
ube.     This  groove,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  pirate 


54      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Norsemen  closed  the  seas  to  peaceful  folks,  was  the  great 
highway  of  Europe.  In  it  sprang  up  earliest  cathedrals, 
universities,  and  factories.  Right  from  the  center  of  this 
industrial  channel,  there  came  to  Philadelphia  a  German 


Independence  Hall,  at  the  time  of  the  Signing  of  the  Declaration   of 

Independence. 

immigration,  skilled  in  weaving,  in  iron,  and  in  all  the  in 
dustries  of  two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  English  immigration,  also,  while  it  was  led  by  Quak 
ers, —  good  business  men  all,  people  who  paid  their  debts, 
told  no  trade  lies,  and  had  one  price  for  all, —  was  made 
up  of  men  and  women  from  the  cities  of  southern  England. 
At  that  time,  pretty  nearly  all  the  cities  and  most  of  the 
manufacturers  of  England  were  in  its  southern  half.  They 


Philadelphia  55 

are  not  now.  While  New  England  and  the  South  drew 
their  immigration  from  country  England,  the  incomers  to 
Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania  were  from  the  cities,  the 
stores,  and  the  shops  of  south  England.  When  you  look 
on  the  map  of  Philadelphia  to-day,  you  see  London  names 


Franklin's  grave,  Fifth  and  Arch  streets,   Philadelphia. 

-  Richmond,  Kensington,  and  Southwark ;  and  the  largest 
places  near  are  Bristol  and  Chester,  named  after  the  busiest 
ports  of  England  in  the  seventeenth  century.  When  you 
have  your  big  town,  some  one  must  own  the  land  and 
the  houses.  If  a  few  own  them,  the  many  will  not  like 
it.  They  ought  not  to  like  it.  In  a  city  where  every 
thing  is  right,  every  family  will  own  something.  That 
city  is  most  near  to  the  right  thing  where  the  most  peo- 


56       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

pie  own  something.  This  will  not  come  about  unless  the 
laws  are  right.  The  laws  are  not  good  unless  bread  is 
cheap,  unless  men  have  skill  in  their  work,  and  are  of  saving 
habits,  and  unless  land  is  cheap,  the  city  plan  good,  and 
wrong-doers  are  locked  up  at  once.  But  all  these  things 
will  not  bring  about  the  right  city,  in  which  most  people 
own  something,  unless  the  lawrs  make  it  easy  for  a  man 
who  works  with  his  hands  to  buy  the  house  he  lives  in. 
If  a  man  owns  that,  he  will  be  interested  in  looking  after  his 
home  and  will  not  complain  because  some  one  else  is  richer 
than  he  is. 

Cheap  food  and  industry  will  not  make  the  families  in  a 
city  comfortable  unless  a  city  has  room  to  grow,  is  well 
planned,  and  wisely  governs  itself.  Philadelphia  is  fortu 
nate  in  all  three  respects.  The  site  is  flat.  All  directions 
are  open  to  growth.  It  is  not  cramped  by  river  and  bay, 
as  are  Boston  and  San  Francisco.  It  is  not  on  an  island, 
as  is  New  York.  Swamps  do  not  hedge  it  in  as  they  pen 
Chicago.  Building  land,  city  lots,  have  always  cost  less  and 
been  more  nearly  of  about  the  same  price  in  its  different 
quarters,  than  in  any  other  city  of  a  million  people  ever 
seen.  The  growth  of  the  city  has  never  been  crowded.  It 
has  spread  out  in  two-  or  three-story  fashion  over  an  oc 
cupied  area  which  comes  close  to  that  of  London  itself. 
English  towns,  laid  out  on  the  lines  of  old  Roman  camps, 
with  a  Broad  and  a  High  street  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles,  and  lesser  streets  crossing  each  other  checkerboard 
fashion,  gave  Penn  the  thought  of  his  plan  for  Philadelphia. 


THE  WALKING  PURCHASE 
BY  GEORGE  WHEELER 

In  the  early  twilight  of  a  September  morning,  more  than 
one  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago,  a  remarkable  company 
might  have  been  seen  gathering  about  a  large  chestnut-tree 
at  the  cross-roads  near  the  Friends'  meeting-house  in 
Wrightstown,  Pennsylvania.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any 
one  of  us  could  have  guessed  what  the  meeting  meant. 
Most  of  the  party  were  Quakers  in  wide-brimmed  hats 
and  plain  dress,  and  if  it  had  been  First-day  instead  of 
Third-day,  we  might  have  thought  they  were  gathering  un 
der  the  well-known  tree  for  a  neighborly  chat  before  "  meet 
ing."  Nor  was  it  a  warlike  rendezvous;  for  the  war-cry 
of  the  Lenni-Lenape  had  never  yet  been  raised  against  the 
"Children  of  Mignon  "  (Elder  Brother),  as  the  followers 
of  William  Penn  were  called;  and  in  a  little  group  some 
what  apart  were  a  few  athletic  Indians  in  peaceful  garb 
and  friendly  attitude.  But  it  evidently  was  an  important 
meeting,  for  here  were  several  prominent  officials,  includ 
ing  even  so  notable  a  person  as  Proprietor  Thomas  Penn. 

In  1686,  fifty-one  years  before  this,  William  Penn 
bought  from  the  Lenni-Lenape,  or  Delaware  Indians,  a  sec 
tion  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Delaware,  on  the  west  by 
the  Neshaminy,  and  extending  to  the  north  from  his  previ 
ous  purchases  "  as  far  as  a  man  can  go  in  a  day  and  a  half." 
No  effort  was  made  to  fix  the  northern  boundary  until  the 
Indians,  becoming  uneasy  at  the  encroachments  of  the  set- 

57 


58       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

tiers,  asked  to  have  the  line  definitely  marked.  On  August 
25,  1737,  after  several  conferences  between  the  Delawares 
and  William  Penn's  sons,  John  and  Thomas,  who,  after  their 
father's  death,  became  proprietors  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
treaty  of  1686  was  confirmed,  and  a  day  was  appointed  for 
beginning  the  walk.  This  explains  why  the  crowd  was 
gathering  about  the  old  chestnut-tree  in  the  early  dawn  of 
that  day,  September  19,  1737. 


Philadelphia  colonists. 

"  Ready!  "  called  out  Sheriff  Smith. 

At  the  word,  James  Yeates,  a  native  of  New  England, 
tk  tall,  slim,  of  much  ability  and  speed  of  foot,"  Solomon 
Jennings,  "  a  remarkably  stout  and  strong  man/'  and 
Edward  Marshall,  a  well-known  hunter,  over  six  feet  tall, 
and  noted  as  a  walker,  stepped  from  the  crowd  and  placed 
their  right  hands  upon  the  tree. 

Thomas  Penn  had  promised  five  pounds  in  money  and 
five  hundred  acres  of  land  to  the  walker  who  covered  the 
greatest  distance;  and  these  three  men  were  to  contest  for 
the  prize.  Just  as  the  edge  of  the  sun  showed  above  the 
horizon,  Sheriff  Smith  gave  the  word,  and  the  race  began. 

Yeates  quickly  took  up  the  lead,  stepping  lightly.  Then 
came  Jennings,  accompanied  by  two  Indians,  who  were 
there  to  see  that  the  walking  was  fairly  done.  Closely  fol 
lowing  them  were  men  on  horseback,  including  the  sheriff 


59 


The  three  men  stepped  from  the  crowd  and  placed  their  right  hands 

upon  the  tree. 


60       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

and  the  surveyor-general.  Thomas  Penn  himself  followed 
the  party  for  some  distance.  Far  in  the  rear  came  Mar 
shall,  walking  in  a  careless  manner,  swinging  a  hatchet  in 
one  hand,  "  to  balance  himself,"  and  at  intervals  munching 
a  dry  biscuit,  of  which  he  carried  a  small  supply.  He 
seemed  to  have  forgotten  a  resolution  he  had  made  to  "  win 
the  prize  of  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  or  lose  his  life  in 
the  attempt." 

Thomas  Penn  had  secretly  sent  out  a  preliminary  party 
to  blaze  the  trees  along  the  line  of  the  walk  for  as  great  a 
distance  as  it  was  thought  possible  for  a  man  to  walk  in 
eighteen  hours.  So,  when  the  wilderness  was  reached,  the 
walkers  still  had  the  best  and  most  direct  course  clearly 
marked  out  for  them.  The  Indians  soon  protested  against 
the  speed,  saying  over  and  over :  "  That's  not  fair.  You 
run.  You  were  to  walk."  But  the  treaty  said,  "  As  far  as 
a  man  can  go"  and  the  walkers  were  following  it  in  letter, 
if  not  in  spirit,  as  they  hurried  along.  Their  protests  be 
ing  disregarded,  the  Indians  endeavored  to  delay  the  prog 
ress  by  stopping  to  rest;  but  the  white  men  dismounted, 
and  allowed  the  Indians  to  ride,  and  thus  pushed  on  as 
rapidly  as  ever.  At  last  the  Indians  refused  to  go  any  far 
ther,  and  left  the  party. 

Before  Lehigh  River  was  reached  Jennings  was  ex 
hausted,  gave  up  the  race,  and  lagged  behind  in  the  com 
pany  of  followers.  His  health  was  shattered,  and  he  lived 
only  a  few  years. 

That  night  the  party  slept  on  the  north  side  of  the  Lehigh 
Mountains,  half  a  mile  from  the  Indian  village  of  Hoken- 
dauqua.  Next  morning,  while  some  of  the  party  searched 
for  the  horses  which  had  strayed  away  during  the  night, 
others  went  to  the  village  to  request  Lappawinzoe,  the 


The  Walking  Purchase  61 

chief,  to  send  other  Indians  to  accompany  the  walkers.  He 
angrily  replied :  "  You  have  all  the  good  land  now,  and 
you  may  as  well  take  the  bad,  too."  One  old  Indian,  in 
dignant  at  the  stories  of  how  the  white  men  rushed  along 
in  their  greed  to  get  as  much  land  as  possible,  remarked 
in  a  tone  of  deep  disgust:  "  No  sit  down  to  smoke;  no 
shoot  squirrel;  but  km,  lun,  lun,  all  day  long." 

Scarcely  had  the  last  half -day's  walk-  begun  before 
Yeates,  who  was  a  drinking  man,  was  overcome  by  the 
tremendous  exertions  and  intemperance  of  the  previous 
day.  He  stumbled  at  the  edge  of  Big  Creek,  and  rolled, 
helpless,  down  the  bank  into  the  water.  When  rescued  he 
was  entirely  blind,  and  his  death  followed  within  three 
days. 

Marshall  still  pressed  on.  Passing  the  last  of  the  blazed 
trees  which  had  hitherto  guided  him,  he  seized  a  compass 
offered  by  Surveyor-General  Eastburn,  and  by  its  aid  still 
continued  his  onward  course.  At  last,  Sheriff  Smith,  who 
for  some  time  had  frequently  looked  at  his  watch,  called, 
"  Halt !  "  Marshall  instantly  threw  himself  at  full  length, 
anl  grasped  a  sapling.  Here  was  the  starting-point  for  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  purchase  of  1686,  sixty-eight 
miles  from  the  old  chestnut-tree  at  Wrightstown,  and  very 
close  to  where  Mauch  Chunk  stands  to-day.  The  walk  was 
twice  as  long  as  the  Indians  expected  it  to  be. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Dela wares,  they  knew  too  little  of 
legal  technicalities  to  notice  that  the  deed  did  not  state  in 
what  direction  the  northern  boundary  was  to  be  drawn. 
They  naturally  expected  it  to  be  drawn  to  the  nearest  point 
on  the  Delaware.  But  the  surveyor-general,  to  please 
Perm,  decided  that  the  line  should  run  at  right  angles  to  the 
direction  of  the  walk,  which  was  almost  exactly  northwest. 


The  Walking  Purchase  63 

Draw  a  line  from  Mauch  Chunk  to  the  Delaware  so  that  if 
extended  it  would  pass  through  New  York  City,  and  another 
to  the  point  where  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsyl 
vania  meet.  The  first  is  the  Indian's  idea  of  the  just  way 
to  lay  out  the  northern  boundary;  the  second  is  the  line 
which  Surveyor-General  Eastburn  actually  finished  mark 
ing  out  in  four  days  after  Marshall's  walk  ended. 

And  so  the  three  hundred  thousand  acres  which  the  In 
dians  would  have  given  to  the  Perms  as  the  result  of  Mar 
shall's  walk  were  increased  to  half  a  million  by  taking  self 
ish  advantage  of  a  flaw  in  the  deed. 

The  Lenni-Lenape  had  loved  and  trusted  William  Penn 
because  he  always  dealt  openly  and  fairly  with  them. 
"  We  will  live  in  love  with  William  Penn  and  his  children," 
said  they,  "  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  shall  shine."  But 
the  wrongs  inflicted  on  them  in  the  "  walking  purchase  " 
aroused  the  deepest  indignation.  "  Next  May,"  said  Lap- 
pawinzoe,  "  we  will  go  to  Philadelphia,  each  one  with  a 
buckskin  to  repay  the  presents  and  take  back  our  land 
again."  It  was  too  late,  however,  for  this  to  be  done. 

At  last,  in  1741,  the  Indians  determined  to  resort  to  arms 
to  secure  justice.  But  the  Iroquois,  to  whom  the  Delawares 
had  long  been  subject,  came  to  the  aid  of  the  Penns,  and 
the  last  hope  of  righting  the  wrong  was  gone  forever. 

There  seems  a  sort  of  poetic  justice  in  the  latter  expe 
riences  of  the  principal  men  in  the  affair.  Marshall  never 
got  his  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  his  wife  was  killed 
in  an  attack  by  the  Indians.  Eastburn  was  repudiated  by 
Thomas  Penn,  and  his  heirs  were  notified  that  they  "  need 
not  expect  the  least  favor."  Penn  himself  was  brought 
before  the  king  and  forced  to  disown  many  of  his  acts  and 
agents  in  a  most  humiliating  manner. 


64      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

But  all  this  did  not  repair  the  injury  to  the  Delawares, 
and  they  never  again  owned,  as  a  tribe,  a  single  inch  along 
the  river  from  which  they  took  their  name. 

A  small  monument,  erected  by  the  Bucks  County  Histori 
cal  Society,  marks  the  spot  where  the  old  chestnut-tree 
formerly  stood.  In  order  that  this  might  not  seem  to  con 
done  an  unworthy  deed,  the  monument  was  dedicated,  not 
to  those  who  made  or  conducted  the  walk,  but  to  the  Lenni- 
Lenape  Indians  — "  not  to  the  wrong,  but  to  the  persons 
wronged." 

The  inscription  on  the  stone  reads : 


TO    THE    MEMORY    OF   THE    LENNI-LENAPE    INDIANS, 
ANCIENT    OWNERS    OF    THIS    REGION, 
THESE    STONES    ARE    PLACED    AT 
THIS    SPOT,    THE    STARTING- 
POINT    OF    THE 


"  INDIAN  WALK," 
September  19,  1737. 


DUTCH  CHARACTERISTICS 
BY  MRS.  SCHUYLER  VAN  RENSSELAER 

The  general  characteristics  of  the  Dutch  as  contrasted 
with  the  English  settlers  of  North  America  are  interesting. 
None  is  more  striking  or  more  admirable  than  the  Dutch 
man's  broad-mindedness  in  matters  of  conscience  and 
opinion. 

In  the  statute-books  of  New  Amsterdam  certain  pages 
were  honorably  blank  which  in  those  of  Boston  were  closely 
inscribed,  sometimes  in  letters  of  blood.  New  Amsterdam, 
for  instance,  had  no  undemocratic  sumptuary  laws  distin 
guishing  between  the  permissible  attire  of  the  richer  and 
the  less  rich.  It  did  not  fight  against  the  joys  of  "  tobacco- 
taking."  It  did  not  forbid  "  unprofitable  fowling,  dancing, 
card-playing,"  and  other  possibly  innocent  forms  of  amuse 
ment,  but  only  said  they  should  not  be  pursued  during  serv 
ice  time  on  the  Sabbath.  It  did  not  believe  in  witches;  and 
it  left  the  affairs  of  a  man  with  his  God  to  be  settled  by 
God  and  the  man. 

Religious  liberty  and  equality,  in  our  modern  and  Amer 
ican  sense,  did  not  exist  even  in  Holland,  the  one  existing 
republic  of  the  seventeenth  century.  But  the  generous  re 
ligious  tolerance  which  did  exist  there  was  so  phenomenal 
that  it  brought  out  scorn  and  wrath  from  every  other  land, 
and  from  men  of  every  sect  —  from  the  English  Prot 
estants,  who  profited  greatly  by  it,  as  well  as  from  continen- 

5  '     65 


66       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

tal  Catholics  and  Lutherans.  And  the  temper  of  New 
Netherland  was  the  temper  of  its  fatherland. 

Every  one  knows  that  a  government  like  that  of  early 
Massachusetts,  integrally  uniting  Church  and  State,  could 
have  been  built  on  none  but  a  stiff  sectarian  basis.  But  it 
should  be  remembered  that  this  government  was  the  out 
come,  not  the  cause,  of  Puritan  intolerance.  The  differing 
spirit  of  New  Netherland  was  not  rooted  in  its  differing 
form  of  government.  It  ran  back  of  this  to  the  spirit  of 
Dutch  Protestantism  at  home.  If  the  Dutch  of  the  New 
World  had  been  allowed  to  rule  themselves,  as  were  the 
men  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  they  would  have  planted  no 
theocracies;  and  it  hardly  needs  to  be  said  that  the  work 
ings  of  New  England  theocracies  were  hateful  in  their  eyes. 
Holland's  large-heartedness  excited  Puritan  rage;  but  Puri 
tan  narrow-mindedness  provoked  New  Netherland's  wonder 
and  contempt.  Loud  Dutch  laughter  must  have  greeted  the 
report  of  ordinances  such  as  that  which  empowered  the 
Massachusetts  General  Court  to  proceed  against  all  holders 
of  erroneous  or  unsafe  opinions,  carefully  tabulated  to  the 
number  of  eighty-two;  and  we  can  guess  what  Dutch  com 
mon  sense  and  Dutch  hospitality  thought  about  the  case 
of  the  respectable  "  gentlemen  "  who,  as  Governor  \Yin- 
throp  recounts,  came  to  Boston's  doors  in  1630,  but  were 
"  turned  away  "  because  they  could  produce  no  ecclesiasti 
cal  "  credentials." 

In  New  Netherland  the  official  theory  was  that  only  the 
State  Church,  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  should  be 
supported  or  definitely  countenanced  by  the  government, 
and  that,  if  the  government  should  see  fit  to  forbid  any 
other  forms  of  public  worship,  they  should  be  held  unlawful. 
But  in  practice  complete  toleration  was  allowed.  No  pro- 


Dutch  Characteristics  67 

hibitions  of  any  sort  were  formulated  until  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant  got  the  chance ;  then  he  was  not  supported  by  his  own 
people,  and  was  rebuked  and  restrained  by  his  superiors  in 
Holland;  and  in  New  Netherland  the  question  of  ortho 
doxy  never  complicated  the  question  of  political  liberty, 
as  it  did  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Haven. 

In  the  time  of  Governor  Kieft  New  Amsterdam  and  the 
neighboring       settlements 
gladly  received  as  perma 
nent     residents     all     the 
heretics  who  were  forced 
or     who     chose      to      fly 
from        Massachusetts  — 
those  who  had  openly  as 
sailed    the    sacro-sanctity 
of     its     government,     as        Chafing  dish  sl^ferbsy  early  Dutch 
well    as    those    who    had 

confined  themselves  to  transcendental  theorizings.  Gover 
nor  Winthrop  says  that  many  people  left  Massachusetts  at 
this  time  because  of  hard  material  conditions. 

With  all  their  faults,  the  Puritans  were  the  finest  product 
of  seventeenth-century  England.  John  Milton  spoke  of 
their  emigration  to  New  England  as  "  the  departure  of  so 
many  of  the  best  " ;  and  even  their  adversaries  in  State 
and  Church  realized  what  the  motherland  was  losing  when 
they  sailed  in  such  numbers,  and  tried  to  restrict  the  swell 
ing  tide.  If  Holland  had  likewise  sent  its  very  best,  and  by 
the  tens  of  thousands,  New  Netherland  might  have  out 
stripped  New  England  in  material  and  in  intellectual  ways ; 
for  the  best  Hollanders  of  that  time  had  most  of  the  virtues 
of  the  Puritan  without  his  deep  defects.  But  Hollanders 
were  nowhere  planting  colonies  for  the  sake  of  founding 


68       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

new  commonwealths,  or  for  the  sake  of  the  colonies  them 
selves  —  only  for  the  sake  of  the  profit  to  be  derived  from 
them.  And  those  who  emigrated  were  not  going  in  throngs 
because  of  political  or  religious  discontent.  They  were  be 
ing  sent  abroad  in  very  small  bands  because  of  the  service 
they  might  render  to  Holland's  commerce,  and,  through 
this,  to  its  growing  jealousy  of  England  and  its  long-cher 
ished  hate  of  Spain;  and  it  was  hard  to  find  any  who 
would  consent  to  go.  Ready  enough  for  adventurous 
trade  or  war,  the  Dutch  of  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century  were  not  ready  for  colonization.  Those  who 
liked  a  settled  life  were  perfectly  satisfied  at  home. 

Moreover,  while  pioneer  life  almost  always  bears  its 
own  peculiar  crop  of  evils,  the  softer  sins  of  civilization 
cannot  flourish  in  its  wild  soil.  Early  Manhattan  cannot 
have  been  a  place  where  fools  or  cowards  were  many,  and 
it  certainly  was  not  a  place  where  plethoric  citizens  habitu 
ally  smoked  and  dozed  and  boozed  in  chimney-corners  — 
this  poor,  cold,  stinted,  harassed,  and  often  half-staved  lit 
tle  outpost  in  the  wilderness,  with  an  unfamiliar  climate, 
uncleared  lands,  and  ever-possible  Indian  foes  to  fight,  de 
pendent  upon  a  trust  of  tradesmen  for  sustenance  and 
defense,  and  upon  these  tradesmen's  employees  for  gui 
dance.  There  was  not  much  humor  in  a  situation  like  this. 
There  can  have  been  nothing  feebly  comic  about  the  major 
part  of  the  people  who  bore  with  it. 

By  nature  the  Dutch  were  more  gentle  and  tolerant  than 
the  English,  and  they  were  also  more  inclined  by  their 
special  needs  to  a  policy  of  friendship  with  the  natives. 
The  Puritans  did  not  long  depend  upon  the  fur  trade  as 
a  main  resource.  Tilling  their  fields  and  fishing  their  seas, 
they  soon  prized  the  Indian's  absence  more  than  any  wares 


Dutch  Characteristics  69 

that  he  could  bring.  But  the  New  Netherlander  craved 
nothing"  so  much  as  the  skins  of  wild  creatures,  and  could 
more  easily  obtain  them  by  bartering  with  wild  hunters 
than  by  shooting  and  trapping  on  their  own  account  in 
tangled  forests  and  deep  and  rapid  streams.  So  they  con 
ciliated  the  Indians  as  middlemen  between  themselves  and 
the  beaver,  and  also  the  only  men  who  in  times  of  dearth 
could  furnish  them  with  food.  The  West  India  Company 
in  Europe,  and  almost  all  its  colonists  in  America,  were  fair 
and  honorable  in  their  attitude  toward  the  savage,  buying 
his  lands,  respecting  his  customs,  and  beliefs,  keeping 
the  treaties  they  made  with  him,  and,  as  Mr.  Fernow  writes1 
regarding  him  "  as  a  man  with  rights  of  life,  liberty, 
opinion,  and  property  like  their  own."  To  this  policy, 
wisely  followed  by  the  English  when  they  became  the  own 
ers  of  New  Netherland,  "  we  owe,"  says  the  same  histo 
rian,  "  the  existence  of  the  United  States."  That  is,  we 
owe  our  national  existence  to  the  fact  that,  generation 
after  generation,  the  powerful  Iroquois  tribes  formed  a 
steady  bulwark  against  the  aggressions  of  the  Canadian 
French,  enabling  the  English  to  retain  New  York,  the 
"  pivot  province,"  and  eventually  to  win  in  the  great  con 
flict  which  ended  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  and  under  the 
walls  of  Montreal  —  the  conflict  which  made  the  con 
tinent  English,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  drew  the  colonies 
together  that  they  could  combine  to  throw  off  England's 
yoke. 

1  In  "  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America." 


LIFE  ON  A  COLONIAL  MANOR 
BY  HELEN  EVERTSON  SMITH  1 


HE  holder  of  an  American  manor  in  co 
lonial  days,  though  of  the  highest  social 
rank,  was  by  no  means  an  idle  aristocrat 
living  on  an  immense  estate  paying  a 
proportionate  revenue.  In  fact,  if  one 
of  the  wealthiest,  he  was  also  one  of 
the  busiest  men  of  his  generation.  Both 
the  conditions  of  the  times  and  those  upon  which  the  manors 
were  conferred  made  this  a  necessity.  The  manor  granted 
to  Robert  Livingston  in  1686  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 
large  as  some  of  the  German  principalities  of  those  days, 
and  its  possession  implied  a  certain  amount  of  extraneous 
wealth  on  the  part  of  its  owner  to  enable  him  to  sustain 
his  manorial  authority  with  the  fitting  degree  of  power  and 
prestige ;  but  it  was  no  sinecure. 

Mr.  Livingston's  great  domain,  situated  in  what  are 
now  Columbia  and  Dutchess  counties,  New  York,  front 
ing  for  twelve  miles  along  the  Hudson  River,  and  en 
larging  to  the  length  of  twenty  miles  on  the  Massachusetts 
border,  thirty  miles  or  so  back  from  the  river,  was  still,  for 
the  most  part,  a  wilderness  where  Indians  hunted  the  deer, 
or  sometimes  fired  the  hut  and  took  the  scalp  of  a  too  ad 
venturous  pioneer. 

Robert  Livingston   was   a   far-seeing,   politic   man.     As 

1  From  "  Colonial  Days  and  Ways." 

70 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor  71 

much  as  might  be,  he  made  friends  of  the  wild  tribes,  pay 
ing  them  fairly  for  their  lands,  without  regard  to  the  fact 
that  the  royal  grants  were  supposed  to  preclude  any  such 
necessity,  and  himself  learning,  and  causing  his  sons  to 
learn,  the  Indian  tongues,  that  they  might  be  delivered  from 
the  misunderstandings  which  were  so  frequent  when  the 
several  parties  to  any  agreement  \vere  dependent  upon  the 
not  always  certain  loyalty  of  the  interpreters. 

Nothing  in  North  America  was  then  so  plentiful  as  land, 
and  under  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  royal  grants  a 
poor  man  could  not  have  afforded  to  accept  a  gift  of  the 
lordiest  manor  of  them  all.  Within  a  specified  time  a  cer 
tain  number  of  families  had  to  be  brought  from  Europe 
and  settled  upon  the  granted  territory,  and  their  main 
tenance  for  the  first  few  years  assured.  It  is  true  that  the 
settlers  thus  brought  were  expected  to  pay  back  at  least  a 
part  of  the  first  expenditure,  but  for  the  time  the  outlays 
were  heavy,  and  comparatively  few  of  the  settlers  made 
the  losses  good. 

Farms  were  leased  for  long  terms,  usually  for  two  lives 
and  a  half,  a  period  which  at  that  time  was  said  to  have 
averaged  about  fifty  years. 

In  his  novel  of  "  Satanstoe,"  one  of  the  most  reliable  of 
historical  tales,  Cooper  says :  '  The  first  ten  years  no  rent 
at  all  was  to  be  paid;  for  the  next  ten  the  land  [five 
hundred  acres]  was  to  pay  sixpence  currency  per  acre,  the 
tenant  having  the  right  to  cut  timber  at  pleasure;  for  the 
remainder  of  the  lease  sixpence  sterling  was  to  be  paid  for 
the  land  and  £40  currency  or  about  $100  per  year  for  the 
mill  site.  The  mills  to  be  taken  by  the  landlord,  at  '  an 
appraisal  made  by  men/  at  the  expiration  of  the  lease;  the 
tenant  to  pay  taxes."  The  mill  was  evidently  to  be  built 


72       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


by  the  tenant,  "  who  had  the  privilege  of  using,  for  his 
dams,  buildings,  etc.,  all  the  materials  that  he  could  find  on 
the  land."  To  the  landlords  belonged  the  duty  of  con 
structing  roads  and  bridges,  and  of  making  all  improve 
ments  of  a  public  nature.  The  rents  were  usually  if  not 
always  paid  in  the  produce  of  the  land,  which  the  manor's 
lord  w-as  obliged  to  get  to  market  at  his  own  expense  in 
order  to  obtain  the  necessary  cash  for  his  varied  undertak 
ings.  Such  an  arrangement  would  certainly  seem  to  have 
been  very  liberal  toward  the  tenant,  and  was  doubtless  so 
esteemed  at  the  time,  but  in  after  years,  when  the  descend 
ants  of  the  first  tenants  had  forgotten  the  heavy  advances 
which  had  been  made  by  the  ancestors  of  their  landlords, 
and  saw  how  easily  the  more  recent  settlers  could  make 
homes  for  themselves  in  the  West,  they  considered  them 
selves  unjustly  treated,  and  in 
stituted  the  struggle  for  posses 
sion  which  is  known  to  history 
as  the  "  anti-rent  war." 

Of  course,  nothing  of  all 
this  was  foreseen  at  the  begin 
ning.  The  first  manor  lords 
undoubtedly  thought  that  they 
were  here  founding  immense 
holdings  after  the  fashions  of 
the  motherland,  and  they  pro 
ceeded  in  a  tkoroughly  business 
like  way  to  make  all  things  se 
cure  for  the  prosperity  of  their 
heirs,  \vho,  when  their  time 
came,  did  not  fail  to  appreciate 
Colonial  gentleman.  ^ha*  had  been  done  for  them. 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor 


73 


Governor  William  Livingston  of  New  Jersey,  writing  to 
his  brother,  the  third  lord  of  the  Upper  Manor,  in  1775,  re 
marked  :  "  Without  a  large  personal  estate  and  their  own 


Colonial  wigs. 

uncommon  industry  and  capacity  for  business,  instead  of 
making  out  of  their  extended  tract  of  land  a  fortune  for 
their  descendants,  our  grand-parents  and  parents  would 
have  left  us  but  a  scant  maintenance." 

In  this  expression  Governor  Livingston  seems  to  have  in 
cluded  the  manor  ladies  as  well  as  their  lords,  and  indeed 
it  is  plain  that  the  very  desirable  "  capacity  for  business  " 
was  equally  needed  by  both,  and  the  "  hand  of  the  diligent 
that  maketh  rich  "  is  not  an  exclusively  masculine  possess 
ion. 

The  first  lady  of  the  manor  of  Livingston  was  Alida,  the 
daughter  of  Philip  Pieterse  Schuyler,  and  widow  of  the 
Rev.  Nicholas  Van  Rensselaer.  Whatever  dower  in 
money  or  lands  she  may  have  brought  to  the  aid  of  her 
astute  second  husband  she  surely  brought  one  still  better  in 
the  sturdy  Dutch  qualities  of  fidelity,  thrift,  and  manage- 


74       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

ment.  For  warmth  and  strength  of  family  affection,  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Livingston  were  long  remembered 
among  their  descendants. 

The  year  of  this  marriage,  1683,  was 
that  in  which  young  Robert  Livingston 
made  his  first  purchase  of  land  from  the 
Indians  —  a  tract  of  two  thousand  acres. 
Two  years  later  more  land  was  added  by 
purchase,  and  still  one  year  later  came  the 

Colonial  Collar. 

grant  from  the  crown,  when  the  whole  was 

erected  into  a  lordship  or  manor,  conferring  the  "  Court- 
Leet,"  "  Court-Baron,"  and  other  rights  and  privileges 
which  were  for  a  long  time  more  visible  on  the  parchments 
than  elsewhere. 

On  this  estate  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  acres.1  on  the  banks  of  a  small  but  for  a  short 
distance  navigable  tributary  of  the  Hudson,  was  erected 
the  first  Livingston  manor-house.  Its  last  vestige  disap 
peared  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  present 
family  residence,  known  as  Oak  Hill,  was  built,  a  mile  or 
more  from  the  ancient  site. 

Of  the  first  house  we  only  know  that  it  was  "  thick 
walled,  low  browed  and  heavy  raftered,"  after  the  then  pre 
vailing  Dutch  farm-house  type,  only  much  larger  than  was 
usual.  We  do  not  know  that  it  was  constructed  in  any 
way  for  defense,  although  it  well  might  have  been.  Prob 
ably  its  builder  trusted  to  keep  the  peace  by  his  just  and 
friendly  dealings  with  the  Indians,  and  he  may  also  have 
been  prepared  for  defense.  He  certainly  had  good  reason 

1  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  writing  in  1776,  says  that  the  Liv 
ingston  Manor  then  comprised  over  300,000  acres.  This  must  have 
included  almost  150,000  acres  which  had  been  gradually  added  by  pur 
chase  to  the  original  manorial  grant. 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor  75 

to  trust  somewhat  to  the  number  of  retainers  gathered 
around  him,  a  majority  of  whom,  like  all  frontiersmen, 
would  pretty  surely  be  well  armed  against  "  big  game," 
which  would  as  surely  include  aggressively  inclined  Indians, 
if  any  there  were;  but  this  does  not  appear.  From  the 
rear  of  the  broad-roofed  dwelling  stretched  away  the  quar 
ters  of  the  slaves,  the  other  outbuildings,  and  several  barns, 
some  of  which  were  larger  than  the  house  itself. 

There  was  much  building  of  houses  at  various  suitable 
points  for  the  use  of  the  tenant  farmers  and  craftsmen 
brought  from  Great  Britain,  Holland,  and  Germany.  To 
supply  the  timber  for  these  dwellings  sawmill  machinery 
was  imported  and  set  up  on  the  banks  of  the  streams  in  the 
midst  of  the  forests.  Near  these  mills  little  settlements 
grew  up  with  a  celerity  that  was  remarkable  for  the  time, 
and  spoke  volumes  for'  the  executive  and  administrative 
ability  of  the  manor's  active  lord.  In  a  long,  semi-de 
tached  wing  of  the  manor-house  carpenters  and  masons 
were  fed  and  lodged  during  the  long  winters,  while  they 
did  such  preparatory  work  as  might  be  possible  to  for 
ward  building  operations  in  the  various  settlements  in  such 
moments  as  the  weather  would  per 
mit.  With  the  adaptability  of  all 
true  pioneers,  these  men  could  turn 
their  hands  to  many  things,  and 
they  manufactured  in  the  manor's  Colonial  sPectacles- 
workshop  and  smithy  many  of  the  tools  which  otherwise 
must  have  been  imported,  as  well  as  much  of  the  rude 
furniture  for  the  pioneer  houses.  Near  by  was  the  grist 
mill  which  supplied  flour  and  Indian  meal  to  all  the  near 
settlements,  as  well  as  to  many  outside  the  manor  for  per 
haps  thirty  miles  up  and  down  the  river.  On  the  home 


76      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

farm  hundreds  of  swine  and  beef  cattle  were  raised,  slaugh 
tered,  and  cured  to  supply  scores  of  resident  families  and 
also  for  exportation.  Here  the  wool  of  many  hundreds  of 
sheep  was  sheared,  carded,  spun  into  yarn,  and  woven  into 
blankets  and  cloths  to  be  used  for  the  manor  household 
and  by  those  of  the  tenants  not  sufficiently  "  forehanded  " 
to  do  this  work  for  themselves. 

In  one  room  of  the  "  great  house "  were  held  courts 
where  all  the  difficulties  common  to  frontier  populations 
were  adjusted,  and  in  the  same  room  were  carried  on  the 
primitive  banking  operations  of  the  newly  opened  region. 

Near  by  were  the  docks,  whence,  when  the  river  was  open, 
sloops  were  weekly  departing,  laden  with  salted  meats, 
grains,  peltries,  and  lumber,  or  returning  with  cargoes  of 
all  the  countless  things  which  could  not  yet  be  produced 
at  home.  Among  these  were  many  articles  of  luxury  and 
rich  household  furnishings  which  must  have  seemed  a  trifle 
incongruous  with  their  new  surroundings. 

Not  far  away  stood  the  big  "  store,"  where  all  sorts  of 
things,  from  wrought-iron  nails  to  silks,  and  from  "  West 
Indian  sweetmeats  "  to  Dutch  garden  seeds,  were  sometimes 
sold  for  money,  but  often  bartered  for  country  produce  and 
peltries,  which  would  soon  find  their  way  to  New  York,  and 
some  ultimately  to  England,  in  ships  owned  by  the  enter 
prising  Robert  Livingston. 

All  these  various  branches  of  business  implied  the  com 
ing  and  going  of  many  persons,  and  entailed  an  open- 
handed  hospitality  of  the  widest  kind.  For  this  the  princi 
pal  care  and  oversight  fell  upon  the  capable  shoulders  of 
Mrs.  Livingston.  It  is  traditionally  related  that  the  num 
ber  of  permanent  dwellers  which  the  manor-house  roof 
sheltered  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  eighteenth 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor 


77 


century  averaged  something  over  thirty  persons  —  this  be 
ing  exclusive  of  slaves,  of  whom  there  were  more  than  a 
hundred  having  outside  quarters,  and  of  white  employees. 
As  strangers  were  always  welcome,  it  wras  the  custom  to 
have  beds  of  all 
sorts  in  a  state  of 
complete  readi 
ness  for  at  least 
ten  unexpected 
guests,  while,  at 
a  pinch,  a  good 
many  more  could 
be  accommodated 
without  great  in 
convenience. 

The  first  manor 
of  Livingston, 
with  its  many  activities,  its  profuse  hospitalities,  and  its 
strong  contrasts,  reminds  one  of  Scott's  descriptions  of  the 
rude  baronial  halls  in  the  remote  Scotch  districts  a  few 
scores  of  years  earlier  than  this.  In  the  new  land  there 
was  almost  as  much  feudal  authority  over  more  diverse 
retainers,  a  greater  display  of  costly  plate,  tapestries,  and 
rich  furniture,  and  the  same  lack  of  what  were  even  then 
considered  essential  comforts  for  persons  of  like  social  po 
sition  in  regions  less  remote. 

The  wide  hall  and  the  long  drawing-room  of  the  big 
farm-house  were  wainscoted  in  panels.  The  mantels  above 
the  tile-bordered  fireplaces  were  fancifully  carved,  and  the 
walls  were  hung  with  costly  Flemish  tapestries;  yet  it  is 
doubtful,  if,  during  the  first  three  or  four  decades,  any  of 
the  floors  were  carpeted,  while  that  of  the  dining-room  was 


Colonial  loom. 


78      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

certainly  sanded,  and  a  row  of  sheepskins,  dressed  with  the 
wool  on,  was  laid  around  the  table  in  winter  for  foot- 
warmers.  At  the  same  time  the  table  was  laid  with  the 
finest  naperies  and  much  solid  silver,  interspersed  with 
pewter  and  wooden  dishes.  During  the  earliest  years  there 
probably  was  not  a  single  fork,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that 
there  were  few  if  any  articles  of  china,  and  not  many  of 
earthenware. 

Their  descendants  of  the  third  and  fourth  generation, 
then  grown  to  be  a  large,  wealthy,  keen-witted,  and  "  clan 
nish  clan,"  were,  with  very  few  exceptions,  found  among  the 
strongest  opponents  to  British  power  during  the  struggle  of 
the  colonies  for  independence,  though  well  knowing  that 
with  their  success  would  perish  all  dreams  of  the  new- 
world  baronies.  The  course  of  the  three  great  manor 
families  of  Van  Rensselaer,  Van  Cortlandt,  and  Living 
ston  is  alone  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  calumny  that  "  great 
estates  always  made  active  Tories." 

PROSPEROUS    DAYS    ON    A    LATER    MANOR 

The  period  from  the  founding  of  the  first  manor  in  the 
colony  of  New  York  to  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  was  not  quite  a  century,  yet  during  the  last 
third  of  that  time  home  life  on  all  the  manors  had  greatly 
changed.  What  in  the  later  time  was  held  to  be  vast 
wealth  had  resulted  from  the  wise  plans  and  incessant 
labors  of  the  founders,  acting  with  the  natural  growth  of 
the  country.  To  such  pleasant  features  as  had  existed  in 
the  earlier  days  many  others  had  been  added,  while  much 
of  that  which  was  unpleasant  had  disappeared.  For  miles 
along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson,  above  and  below 
what  is  now  Rhinebeck,  almost  every  sightly  eminence  was 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor 


79 


capped  with  the  fine  residence  of  one  of  the  grandchildren 
of  the  first  lord  and  lady  of  the  Livingston  Manor.  At  all 
of  these  mansions  cordial  hospitality,  abundant  cheer,  and 
all  of  what  was  then  esteemed  splendor,  were  to  be  found. 
There  were  at  this  time  two  Livingston  manors,  as  a  por 
tion  of  the  first  (which  was  subsequently  called  the  Upper 
Manor)  had  been  set  off  to  the  founder's  third  son  Robert 
as  a  reward  for  peculiarly  important  services.  This  segre 
gated  portion  was  indifferently  called  the  "  Lower  Manor 
of  Livingston "  or  "  Clermont  "  until  after  the  colonies 
had  become  States,  when  it  be 
came  definitely  known  as  Cler 
mont,  one  of  the  most  cele 
brated  country-seats  in  Amer 
ica. 

The  manor  ladies  of  the 
third  generation  and  their  suc 
cessors  of  the  fourth  (though 
the  title  of  these  last  had  be 
come  one  of  courtesy  only) 
were  well-nigh  queens  on  their 
owTn  domains ;  but,  like  all 
queens  who  are  not  mere  fig 
ureheads,  they  had  many  cares, 
which  they  accepted  as  frankly 
as  they  did  the  pleasures  of 
their  position. 

Notions  of  political  independence  had  for  many  years 
been  growing  through  all  the  colonies,  but  of  social  equality 
there  was  scarcely  a  whisper.  Certainly  it  was  far  from 
the  thoughts  of  those  who  had  belonged  to  good  families  in 
the  old  countries  and  had  here  been  held  in  honor  and  had 


A  lady  of  quality. 


8o       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

prospered  to  the  extent  of  founding  families  of  wealth. 
Perhaps  no  more  frankly  fervent  aristocrats  ever  lived  than 
the  owners  of  the  great  colonial  estates,  whether  these  were 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  James  and  the  Chesapeake  or 
on  those  of  the  Hudson.  They  were  free  from  most  of 


Colonial  dance. 

the  restraints  and  traditions  which  often  hung  like  fetters 
on  the  limbs  of  the  kindred  class  in  the  motherland,  and 
thus  they  were  at  liberty  to  enjoy  their  rank,  wealth,  and 
cultivation.  Of  this  happy  liberty  they  took  the  fullest  ad 
vantage. 

From  the  extreme  limits  of  Van  Rensselaer's  manor  on 
the  north  to  that  of  the  Van  Cortlandts  on  the  south,  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Hudson  River  from  Albany  to  New 
York,  and  for  a  distance  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles 
back  from  the  river,  was  dotted  by  the  handsome  residences 


Life  on  a  Colonial  Manor  81 

of  as  care- free,  healthful,  fine-looking,  and  happy  a  class  as 
probably  the  society  of  any  country  has  ever  known.  Its 
members  were  not  driven  by  the  fierce  competition  which 
embitters  so  many  lives  to-day,  yet  they  had  abundant  and 
satisfying  occupations.  They  had  intermarried  so  freely 
that  they  seemed  one  great  cousinry,  all  having  a  serene 
confidence  in  the  invulnerability  of  their  social  position, 
which  left  them  free  to  be  jovial,  hospitable,  good-humored, 
and  withal  public-spirited  to  an  unusual  degree.  The  men 
had  their  offices,  and  their  business  hours  in  which  to  con 
fer  with  their  stewards  and  tenants,  or  with  the  men  who 
conducted  large  enterprises  of  many  sorts  upon  the  strength 
of  their  capital  and  under  their  guidance.  Into  their  capable 
and  willing  hands  official  positions  naturally  fell  and  were 
faithfully  filled;  but  all  these  things  were  done  in  an  at 
mosphere  of  large  leisureliness,  consequent  upon  the  slow 
means  of  communication  between  distant  points,  which  is 
almost  beyond  the  conception  of  any  in  these  electric  days. 

The  men  rode  a  great  deal,  or  hunted  after  the  manner 
of  their  English  cousins,  or  they  made  long  expeditions 
into  the  unexplored  regions  of  northern  and  western  New 
York,  partly,  no  doubt,  with  an  eye  to  present  profit  or  to 
future  investments,  but  largely  to  gratify  their  innate  love 
of  adventure.  Many  of  the  sons  wrere  sent  to  the  English 
universities  of  Cambridge  or  Oxford;  but  even  if  his  col 
lege  training  had  been  received  at  King's  (now  Columbia) 
College,  the  education  of  no  young  man  belonging  to  a 
wealthy  and  cultivated  family  was  considered  complete  un 
til  he  had  made  a  tour  of  Europe,  from  one  to  three  years 
being  frequently  consumed  in  this  way. 

During  the  long  absences  of  the  male  heads  of  the  manor 
families  the  administration  of  their  home  affairs  was  left 

6 


82      The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

in  the  hands  of  capable  stewards,  who  were  always  under 
the  supervision  of  the  manor  ladies.  The  household  sup 
plies  of  every  sort  were  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the 
family's  social  position,  and  would  in  themselves  make 
most  interesting  reading  for  one  who  loves  to  make  the 
past  seem  present  by  recalling  the  homely  details  of  do 
mestic  life. 

All  the  manor  families  had  al 
ways  encouraged  what  were  then 
"  home  industries  "  in  a  strictly 
literal  sense.  But  there  were 
many  things  which  the  largest 
private  expenditure  could  not 
produce  in  the  new  country,  and 
Mrs.  Livingston's  old  account- 
book  shows  that  persons  of 
wealth  did  not,  for  this  reason, 
deprive  themselves  of  much 

which  they  desired  to  possess.  The  things  sent  for  from 
England,  France,  and  Holland  were  varied,  numerous,  and 
costly.  Great  treasures  of  tapestries,  pictures,  inlaid  cabi 
nets,  jewels,  satins,  velvets,  and  laces,  as  well  as  old  wines, 
delicate  porcelains  and  expensive  plate,  must  have  been  lost 
when  the  Clermont  manor-house  was  burned  by  the  British 
during  our  Revolutionary  War. 


A  COLONIAL  LETTER  * 
[FROM  LETTER  FROM  SAMUEL  SMITH  OF  HADLEY,  MASS.] 

"  HADLEY,  MASSACHUSETTS  COLONY 
"  Jan.  ye  Firste,  1698. 

"  MY  DEAR  &  DUTIFUL  SON  :  —  Concerning  ye  earlie 
days  I  can  remember  but  little  save  Hardships.  My  par 
ents  had  broughte  bothe  Men  Servants  and  Maid  Servants 
from  England,  but  ye  Maids  tarried  not  but  till  they  got 
married,  ye  wch  was  shortly,  for  there  was  great  scarcity 
of  Women  in  the  Colonies. 

"  Ye  first  Meeting  House  was  solid  mayde  to  withstande 
ye  wicked  onslaughts  of  ye  Red  Skins.  Its  Foundations 
was  laide  in  ye  feare  of  ye  Lord,  but  its  Walls  was  truly 
laide  in  ye  feare  of  ye  Indians,  for  many  and  grate  was  the 
Terrors  of  'em.  I  do  mind  me  y't  alle  ye  able-bodyed  Men 
did  work  thereat,  &  ye  olde  &  feeble  did  watch  in  turns  if 
any  Savages  was  in  hiding  neare  &  every  man  keept  his 
musket  nighe  to  his  hande.  I  do  not  myself  remember  any 
of  ye  Attacks  made  by  large  bodeys  of  Indians  whilst  we 
did  remain  in  Weathersfield,  but  did  ofttimes  fear  of  em. 
Several  Families  which  did  live  back  always  from  ye  River 
was  either  Murderdt  or  Captivated  in  my  Boyhood  &  we 
all  did  live  in  constant  feare  of  ye  like. 

"  .  .  .  After  ye  Red  Skins  ye  grate  Terror  of  our  lives 
at  Weathersfield  &  for  many  years  after  we  had  moved  to 
Hadley  to  live,  was  ye  Wolves.  Catamounts  was  bad  eno' 

1  From  "  Colonial  Days  and  Ways,"  by  Helen  Evertson  Smith. 

83 


84       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

&  so  was  ye  Beares,  but  it  was  ye  Wolves  yt  was  ye  worst. 
The  noyes  of  they're  howlings  was  eno'  to  curdle  ye  bloode 
of  ye  stoutest  &  I  have  never  seen  ye  man  yt  did  not  shiver 
at  ye  Sounde  of  a  Packe  of  'em.  .  .  .  My  Mother  and 
sister  did  each  of  em  Kill  more  yan  one  of  ye  gray  Howlers 
&  once  my  oldest  sister  shot  a  Beare  yt  came  too  near  ye 
House.  He  was  a  good  fatte  oune  and  keept  us  all  in  meate 
for  a  good  while." 


A  THANKSGIVING  DINNER  1 

[FROM  A  LETTER  FROM  JULIAN  SMITH  TO  HER  "DEAR 
COUSIN  BETSY  "  DESCRIBING  A  FAMILY  THANKSGIVING 
DINNER  IN  NEW  ENGLAND  IN  I779-] 

"  When  Thanksgiving  Day  was  approaching  our 
dear  Grandmother  Smith,  who  is  sometimes  a  little  despond 
ing  of  Spirit  as  you  well  know,  did  her  best  to  persuade 
us  that  it  would  be  better  to  make  it  a  Day  of  Fasting  and 
Prayer  in  view  of  the  Wickedness  of  our  Friends  &  the 
Vileness  of  our  Enemies,  I  am  sure  you  can  hear  Grand 
mother  say  that  and  see  her  shake  her  cap  border. 

"  But  indeed  there  was  some  occasion  for  her  remarks, 
for  our  resistance  to  an  unjust  Authority  has  cost  our  beau 
tiful  Coast  Towns  very  dear  the  last  year  &  all  of  us  have 
had  much  to  suffer.  But  my  dear  Father  brought  her  to  a 
more  proper  frame  of  Mind,  so  that  by  the  time  the  day 
came  she  was  ready  to  enjoy  it  almost  as  well  as  Grand 
mother  Worthington  did,  &  she,  you  will  remember,  al 
ways  sees  the  bright  side.  In  the  meanwhile  we  had  all 
been  working  to  get  all  things  in  readiness  to  do  honor  to 
the  Day. 

"  This  year  it  was  Uncle  Simeon's  turn  to  have  the  dinner 
at  his  house,  but  of  course  we  all  helped  them  as  they  help 
us  when  it  is  our  turn,  &  there  is  always  enough  for  us  all 
to  do. 

1  From  "  Colonial  Days  and  Ways,"  by  Helen  Evertson  Smith. 

85 


86       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

"  All  the  baking  of  pies  &  cakes  was  done  at  our  house 
and  we  had  the  big  oven  heated  and  filled  twice  each  day 
for  three  days  before  it  was  all  done,  &  everything  was 
GOOD,  though  we  did  have  to  do  without  some  things 
that  ought  to  be  used.  Neither  love  nor  (paper)  Money 
could  buy  Raisins,  but  our  good  red  cherries  dried  with 
out  the  pits,  did  almost  as  well  &  happily  uncle  Simeon  still 
had  some  spices  in  store.  The  tables  were  set  in  the  Din 
ing  Hall  and  even  that  big  room  had  no  space  to  spare 
when  we  were  all  seated. 

"Of  course  we  could  have  no  Roast  Beef.  None  of  us 
have  tasted  Beef  this  three  years  back  as  it  must  all  go  to 
the  Army,  &  too  little  they  get,  poor  fellows.  But,  Nay- 
quittymaw's  Hunters  were  able  to  get  us  a  fine  red  Deer, 
so  that  we  had  a  good  haunch  of  Venison  on  Each  Table. 
These  were  balanced  by  huge  Chines  of  Roast  Pork  at  the 
other  Ends  of  the  Tables.  Then  there  was  on  one  a  big 
Roast  Turkey  &  on  the  other  a  Goose  &  two  big  Pigeon 
Pasties.  Then  there  was  an  abundance  of  good  Vegetables 
of  all  the  old  sorts. 

.  .  "  Our  Mince  Pies  were  good  although  we  had  to 
use  dried  Cherries  as  I  told  you,  &  the  meat  \vas  shoulder 
of  Venison  instead  of  Beef.  The  Pumpkin  Pies,  Apple 
Tarts  and  big  Indian  Puddings  lacked  for  nothing  save 
Appetite  by  the  time  we  had  got  round  to  them. 

.  .  .  "  Uncle  Simeon  was  in  his  best  mood,  and  you 
know  how  good  that  is!  He  kept  both  Tables  in  a  roar  of 
laughter  with  his  droll  Stories  of  the  days  when  he  was 
studying  Medicine  in  Edinborough,  &  afterwards  he  and 
Uncle  Paul  joined  in  singing  Hymns  and  Ballads. 

.  ,  .  "  We  did  not  rise  from  the  Table  until  it  was 
quite  dark,  &  then  when  the  dishes  had  been  cleared  away 


A  Thanksgiving  Dinner  87 

we  all  got  .round  the  fire  as  close  as  we  could,  &  cracked 
nuts  &  sang  songs  &  told  stories.  At  least  some  told  & 
others  listened.  You  know  nobody  can  exceed  the  two 
grandmothers  in  telling  tales  of  all  the  things  they  have 
seen  themselves  &  repeating  those  of  the  early  years  in 
New  England,  &  even  some  in  Old  England,  which  they 
had  heard  in  their  youth  from  their  Elders.  My  father 
says  it  is  a  goodly  custom  to  hand  down  all  worthy  deeds 
£  traditions  from  Father  to  Son  as  the  Isrealites  were 
commanded  to  do  about  the  Passover  &  as  the  Indians  here 
have  always  done,  because  the  Word  that  is  spoken  is  re 
membered  longer  than  the  one  that  is  written." 


LITTLE  PURITANS 
BY  H.  E.  SCUDDER 

Our  New  England  ancestors,  when  they  came  here, 
brought  Old  England  names  with  them  for  their  tcnyns  and 
many  Old  England  customs;  but  they  did  not  at  first  brin-g 
bells  for  their  churches,  and,  instead,  a  man  stood  on  the 
door-step  and  beat  a  drum.  Drums  they  had,  for  the  men 
were  all,  or  nearly  all,  soldiers.  They  did  not  keep  a  great 
army,  but  every  one  had  his  musket  and  sword  and  spear, 
for  protection  against  the  hostile  Indian  or  the  wild  beast. 
Indeed,  when  Sunday  came  and  everybody  went  to  church, 
you  would  have  supposed  there  was  to  be  a  drill  or  a  fight, 
for  there  stood  the  drummer  on  the  step,  and  the  men  com 
ing  down  the  broad  path  were  all  or  nearly  all  armed ;  be 
sides,  upon  the  square,  fort-like  building,  in  which  they  first 
held  their  meetings,  men  were  stationed  on  the  lookout  for 
enemies. 

We  call  the  drum  the  Puritan  church-bell,  but  in  those 
days  the  churches  in  New  England  were  called  "  meeting 
houses,"  —  the  same  as  synagogue,  which  word  you  find  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  there  were  a  good  many  points  in 
common  between  the  Jewish  synagogue  and  the  New  Eng 
land  meeting-house.  Let  us  enter  the  meeting-house  on  a 
Sunday  and  see  what  is  done  there.  You  will  not  fail  to 
see  the  pulpit,  which  is  very  high  and  often  overhung  by  a 
sounding-board,  such  as  still  remain  in  some  old  churches. 
This  is  the  preacher's  place,  and  before  him  stands  an  hour- 


Little  Puritans  89 

glass  filled  with  sand;  for  there  is  no  clock  in  the  house, 
and  when  the  minister  begins  his  sermon  he  turns  the  glass 
and  expects  to  preach  till  the  last  grain  of  sand  has  run 
through.  Immediately  below  the  pulpit  sit  the  ruling 
elders,  facing  the  congregation,  and  still  further  down  in 
the  same  position  sit  the  deacons.  Then  comes  the  con 
gregation,  and  you  could  very  quickly  tell  who  were  the 
most  important  people  by  the  place  they  have  in  the  church, 
for  it  is  the  business  of  a  committee  once  a  year  to  seat  the 
people  according  to  their  general  rank  in  the  place,  and 
many  a  bitter  family  quarrel  has  sprung  up  from  disappoint 
ment  at  not  being  well  placed.  I  think  a  good  text  for  the 
minister  of  preach  from  when  the  time  for  seating  came 
would  be  James  ii.,  i-io. 

The  people  do  not  sit  in  families,  but  the  men  sit  on  one 
side  and  the  women  on  the  other,  while  the  boys  have  a 
place  by  themselves.  Very  likely  the  floor  is  sanded,  and  if 
it  is  winter  the  boys  have  brought  little  foot-stoves  for  their 
mothers  and  sisters  to  put  under  their  feet  during  the  long 
service.  A  long  service  it  is.  For  first  the  pastor  makes  a 
prayer  which  lasts  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  then  the  teacher 
reads  and  expounds  a  chapter  in  the  Bible.  Nowadays  one 
generally  hears  the  chapter  read,  in  whatever  church,  with 
out  comment,  but  then  it  was  held  that  this  savored  of  a 
superstitious  respect  for  the  Bible,  as  if  one  must  simply 
listen  to  it  and  not  understand  it.  Then  one  of  the  ruling 
elders  dictates  a  psalm  out  of  the  Bay  psalm-book,  which 
the  people  sing.  These  psalms  were  made  imitations  in 
meter  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  the  people  only  had 
about  ten  tunes  in  all  which  they  could  sing.  They  did  not 
like  to  sing  the  psalms  just  as  they  stood,  for  the  English 
Church  did  that,  and  they  wished  to  ignore  that  Church 


A  Puritan  church-bell. 


Little  Puritans  91 

in  every  possible  way,  so  they  put  the  psalms  into 
very  troublesome  rime,  and  without  any  musical  instru 
ment  sang  them  as  well  as  they  could  to  one  of  their  ten 
tunes. 

After  the  singing  the  pastor  preaches  his  hour-long  ser 
mon,  and  adds  often  an  exhortation,  then  the  teacher  prays 
and  pronounces  a  blessing.  The  same  service  is  held  in 
the  afternoon,  except  that  the  pastor  and  teacher  change 
places.  Perhaps  there  is  baptism  also,  when  a  little  child 
born  since  the  last  Sunday,  or  it  may  be  this  very  day,  is 
brought  in.  If  there  is  a  contribution,  the  people  go  up 
by  turns  and  place  their  money  in  a  box  which  the  deacons 
keep,  and  sometimes,  if  they  have  no  money,  they  bring 
goods  and  corn  and  the  like  and  place  them  on  the  floor. 

Do  you  wonder  that  in  the  long  service,  all  of  which 
pretty  much  was  carried  on  by  the  minister,  the  people,  and 
especially  the  boys,  became  tired  and  restless?  On  cold 
winter  days,  as  the  sermon  drew  near  an  end,  you  could 
have  heard  men  knocking  their  half-frozen  feet  together, 
and  then  was  the  time,  too,  or  on  drowsy  summer  after 
noons,  when  the  tithing-man  was  busy.  Who  was  the 
tithing-man?  He  was  a  parish  officer  whose  special  busi 
ness  it  was  to  see  that  the  Sabbath  was  not  broken,  and 
who  spent  his  time  in  church  looking  after  the  boys  to  see 
that  they  behaved  themselves.  He  had  a  long  staff  which 
he  carried,  much  as  a  sheriff  does.  He  did  not  always 
walk  up  and  down  before  the  children.  Sometimes  he 
stood  behind  them,  and  a  boy  whose  head  fell  over  from 
sleepiness  would  feel  a  thump  on  the  crown  presently  from 
the  staff  of  the  watchful  tithing-man.  Many  of  the  seats 
in  the  old  churches  were  on  hinges,  and  when  people  stood 
up  at  the  blessing,  you  would  hear  the  seats  go  slamming 


92       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

against  the  backs  of  the  pews  all  over  the  house  like,  a  suc 
cession  of  cannon-crackers.  I  fancy  that  the  boys  who 
were  eager  to  get  away  slammed  a  little  harder  than  was 
really  necessary. 

Sunday  with  the  Puritans  began  at  sunset  Saturday  and 
lasted  until  sunset  of  Sunday.  But  that  is  only  one  day 
out  of  seven,  though  I  am  afraid  it  was  a  long  day  to 
many.  We  are  very  apt  to  think  of  the  Puritans  as  al 
ways  going  to  meeting,  and  little  Puritans  we  imagine  as 
dangling  their  legs  from  high  wooden  seats  and  wondering 
when  the  minister  was  to  be  through;  but  think  a  moment, 
remember  what  New  England  was  at  that  time,  and  you 
wrill  see  a  little  of  what  young  life  must  have  been.  There 
were  no  larger  cities  or  towns  as  now ;  there  were  no 
screaming  railway  trains  or  puffing  steamboats.  Boston, 
the  largest  town,  had  not  so  many  inhabitants  as  many  a 
Western  village  may  have  in  a  year's  time.  There  were 
no  great  colleges  and  fine  public  schools,  no  public  halls, 
exhibitions,  concerts  or  plays.  But  then  the  country  was 
far  wilder  and  more  exciting  than  it  now  is.  New  Eng 
land  boys  spent  their  time  in  fields  or  in  the  deep  woods,  by 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  upon  the  shore  of  the  roaring 
sea,  or  in  boats  tossing  on  the  \vater.  They  learned  the 
use  of  the  bow  and  the  gun,  and  they  had  plenty  of  game 
right  at  their  doors.  They  hunted  bears  and  deer  and 
trapped  foxes.  They  shot  wild  turkeys,  wild  geese  and 
wild  ducks.  They  did  not  have  to  wait  for  vacation  and 
then  go  off  a  great  distance  from  home,  but  this  was  their 
daily  occupation.  Then,  perhaps,  as  they  walked  through 
the  forest  they  came  upon  the  red  Indian,  who  was  not 
making  baskets  and  miniature  canoes,  but  hunting  as  they 
were.  If  they  lived  by  the  sea  or  rivers,  as  nearly  all  did 


Little  Puritans 


93 


at  first,  they  had  their  fishing,  swimming,  rowing  and  sail 
ing.  This  was  all  part  of  their  work  as  well  as  their  sport, 
and  hard  lives  they  led  of  it,  too,  for  from  early  youth  they 
worked  with  the  elder  men,  laying  out  roads  through  the 
woods,  digging  wells  and  ditches,  making  walls  and  fences, 
keeping  out  wolves  and  wild-cats.  There  were  houses  and 
barns  to  be  built,  ships  and  boats 
to  make,  mills,  fortifications  and 
churches.  There  were  farms 
and  orchards  to  lay  out  and  cul 
tivate,  and  when  winter  came, 
they  went  into  the  woods  and  cut 
down  the  forest  trees,  and  when 
the  snow  was  hard,  they  sledded 
the  logs  to  the  wood-pile,  the 
timber  to  the  mill.  They  had 
not  the  various  labor-saving  ma 
chines,  but  every  one  had  to  work 
hard  with  plain  tools ;  and  as 
there  were  few  stores,  people 
raised  or  made  nearly  all  that  they  themselves  needed  to 
use. 

The  girls,  too,  had  their  work.  Every  home  had  its 
spinning-wheel  and  loom,  and  the  women  and  young  girls 
spun  and  wove  all  the  clothing  and  household  stuff.  They 
had  to  take  care  of  the  houses,  and  they  had  their  outdoor 
life  also,  working  on  the  farm  and  in  the  field.  When  the 
long  winter  evenings  came  they  read  by  the  fireside,  and 
had  their  quilting  bees  and  their  husking  frolics.  There 
was  plenty  of  wood  in  the  forest,  and  the  wood-piles  were 
built  high,  so  they  stuffed  the  great  logs  into  the  big  chim 
ney  and  had  roaring  fires,  which  did  not  warm  the  houses 


Emigrants'    flax-wheel. 


94       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

as  our  furnaces  do,  but  were  vastly  more  cheerful  and  more 
wholesome.  There  was  not  much  schooling  with  books, 
and  there  were  few  who  spent  as  much  time  in  school  as 
most  children  now  spend  in  vacation. 

Now,  all  new  countries  require  work,  and  New  England 
boys  and  girls  had  to  work  hard;  but  it  was  not  work  only 
which  made  New  England  so  well  known  and  so  great  that 
hundreds  of  books  have  been  written  about  her  and  will 
continue  to  be  written  for  generations  to  come.  It  was 
Sunday  and  work  together  that  made  her  great.  The  boys 
and  girls  who  heard  the  drum  call  them  to  church,  and  sat 
restlessly  there  under  the  eye  of  the  tithing-man,  did  not  al 
ways  understand  what  was  said,  and  many  times  foolish 
things  were  said  by  the  preachers;  but  the  day  which  they 
kept  so  rigorously  was  always  reminding  them  that  there 
was  something  more  to  be  done  than  to  get  rich  fast  and 
spend  their  riches  on  themselves;  that  they  were  to  please 
God  and  not  themselves.  They  did  not  always  go  to  work 
the  right  way  to  please  Him,  but  they  did  not  forget  Him 
and  think  only  of  their  merchandise.  The  children  in 
meeting-house  and  at  work  learned  self-control,  learned 
that  it  was  manlier  and  better  to  labor  than  to  be  self-in 
dulgent,  and  they  were  never  allowed  to  think  that  they 
could  do  anything  they  chose.  We  live  in  happier  times 
now,  and  should  think  it  very  odd  to  see  boys  always  take 
off  their  hats,  and  girls  courtesy  when  they  met  older  people 
in  the  road;  to  write  letters  to  our  fathers  which  begin 
Honored  Sir,  and  to  treat  our  parents  as  if  they  were 
judges  of  the  supreme  court;  but  because  little  Puritans  did 
these  things,  you  must  not  fancy  they  did  not  love  their 
parents,  or  that  their  parents  did  not  love  them.  There  are 
many  beautiful  letters  written  at  that  time  which  show  that 


Little  Puritans  95 

fathers  and  mothers  cared  for  their  homes  as  they  cared 
for  nothing  else  but  God. 

So  when  we  think  of  the  stiff,  hard-looking  Puritans, 
we  may  remember  that  they  hated  lies  and  worked  hard. 
The  little  Puritans  grew  up  in  a  free  out-of-door  life,  and 
learned  in  childhood  to  set  duty  before  pleasure.  And  it 
was  out  of  such  stuff  that  the  men  and  women  of  the  Revo 
lution  came. 


THE  FUR-TRADER  AND  THE  INDIAN 
BASED  ON  PARKMAN,  KALM  AND  OTHERS 

The  great  part  which  fur-trading  played  in  building  up 
the  colonies  and  in  opening  up  new  country  will  be  plain 
to  any  one  who  stops  to  think  that  as  a  means  of  subsistence 
and  of  money-making,  it  was  only  second  to  farming 
among  the  occupations  of  the  colonists. 

The  Indian,  from  the  beginning,  parted  with  his  valuable 
furs  for  the  cheapest  baubles,  and  worst  of  all  for  him,  he 
often  gave  up  his  choicest  stores  for  a  bottle  of  brandy  or 
rum. 

The  chief  thoroughfare  westward  of  the  middle  colonies 
in  the  years  approaching  the  Revolution  was  from  Phila 
delphia,  across  the  Alleghanies,  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
Parkman  l  thus  describes  the  equipment,  character  and  mode 
of  operation  of  the  fur-trader  of  these  times  (1760  to  the 
Revolution)  :  "  Peace  was  no  sooner  concluded  with  the 
hostile  tribes,  than  the  adventurous  fur-traders  careless  of 
risk  of  life  and  property,  hastened  over  the  mountains, 
each  eager  to  be  foremost  in  the  wilderness  market.  Their 
merchandise  was  sometimes  carried  in  wagons  as  far  as  the 
site  of  Fort  de  Quesne,  which  the  English  rebuilt  after 
its  capture,  changing  its  name  to  Fort  Pitt.  From  this 
point  the  goods  were  packed  on  the  backs  of  horses,  and 
thus  distributed  among  the  various  Indian  villages.  More 


Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  and  the  Indian  War."     Boston,  1874, 
by  Francis  Parkman. 

96 


The  Fur-Trader  and  the  Indian        97 

commonly,  however,  the  whole  journey  was  performed  by 
means  of  trains,  or,  as  they  were  called,  brigades  of  pack- 
horses,  which,  leaving  the  frontier  settlements,  climbed  the 
shadowy  heights  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  threaded  the  for 
ests  of  the  Ohio,  diving  through  thickets  and  wading  over 
streams.  The  men  employed  in  this  perilous  calling  were 
a  rough,  bold  and  intractable  class,  often  as  fierce  and  trucu 
lent  as  the  Indians  themselves.  A  blanket,  coat,  or  a  frock 
of  smoked  deer-skin,  a  rifle  on  the  shoulder,  and  a  knife 
and  tomahawk  in  the  belt,  formed  their  ordinary  equipment. 
The  principal  trader,  the  owner  of  the  merchandise,  would 
fix  his  headquarters  at  some  large  Indian  town,  whence 
he  would  dispatch  his  subordinates  to  the  surrounding 
villages,  with  a  suitable  supply  of  blankets  and  red  cloth, 
guns  and  hatchets,  liquor,  tobacco,  paint,  beads  and  hawk's 
bells.  This  wild  traffic  was  liable  to  every  species  of  dis 
order;  and  it  is  not  to  be  \vondered  that,  in  a  region  where 
la\v  was  unknown,  the  jealousies  of  rival  traders  should 
become  a  fruitful  source  of  brawls,  robberies  and  murders. 

"  In  the  back  woods,  all  land  traveling  was  on  foot,  or  on 
horseback.  It  was  no  easy  matter  for  a  novice,  embar 
rassed  with  his  cumbrous  gun,  to  urge  his  horse  through 
the  thick  trunks  and  undergrowth,  or  even  to  ride  at  speed 
along  the  narrow  Indian  trails,  where  at  every  yard  the 
impending  branches  switched  him  across  the  face. 

"  At  night,  the  camp  would  be  formed  by  the  side  of 
some  rivulet  or  spring,  and,  if  the  traveler  was  skilful  in 
the  use  of  his  rifle,  a  haunch  of  venison  would  often  form 
his  evening  meal.  If  it  rained,  a  shed  of  elm  or  bass-wood 
bark  was  the  work  of  an  hour,  a  pile  of  evergreen  boughs 
formed  a  bed,  and  the  saddle  or  the  knapsack,  a  pillow. 

"  He  who  wished  to  visit  the  remoter  tribes  of  the  Missis- 

7 


98       The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

sippi  Valley,  would  find  no  easier  course  than  to  descend  the 
Ohio  in  a  canoe  or  bateau.  He  might  float  for  more  than 
eleven  hundred  miles  down  this  liquid  highway  of  the  wil 
derness,  and,  except  the  deserted  cabins  of  Logstown,  a  lit 
tle  below  Fort  Pitt,  and  an  occasional  hamlet  or  solitary 
wigwam  along  the  deeply  wooded  banks,  he  would  discern 
no  trace  of  human  habitation  throughout  all  this  vast  ex 
tent.  The  body  of  the  Indian  population  lay  to  the  north 
ward,  about  the  waters  of  the  tributary  streams.  It  be 
hooved  the  voyager  to  observe  a  sleepless  caution  and  a 
hawk-eyed  vigilance.  Sometimes  his  anxious  scrutiny 
would  detect  a  faint  blue  smoke  stealing  upward  above  the 
green  bosom  of  the  forest,  and  betraying  the  encamping 
place  of  some  lurking  war-party.  Then  the  canoe  would 
be  drawn  in  haste  beneath  the  overhanging  bushes  which 
skirted  the  shore;  nor  would  the  voyage  be  resumed  until 
darkness  closed,  when  the  little  vessel  would  drift  safely 
by  the  point  of  danger." 

The  Indians,  who  go  hunting  in  winter  commonly  bring 
their  furs  and  skins  to  sale  in  the  neighboring  towns.  But 
to  the  Indians  who  live  at  a  greater  distance  both  the  Eng 
lish  and  French  traders  carried  their  goods  for  exchange, 
often  penetrating  in  their  courses  to  very  great  distances. 

The  fur-traders  engendered  a  peculiar  class  of  reckless 
bush-rangers,  more  like  Indians  than  white  men.  Those 
who  once  felt  the  fascination  of  the  forest  life  were  forever 
unfitted  for  a  life  of  quiet  labor.  The  colonies  were  more 
or  less  infected  with  this  restless  spirit.  In  spite  of  In 
dian  hostility  and  all  the  hardships  of  the  woods,  the  trad 
ers  pushed  their  way  far  into  the  wilderness,  their  canoes 
being  conducted  along  the  inland  rivers  and  lakes  by  these 
half-vagrant  bush-rangers. 


The  Fur-Trader  and  the  Indian         99 

The  Indians  settle  themselves  in  towns  or  villages  after 
an  easy  manner ;  the  houses  are  not  too  close  to  incommode 
one  another,  nor  too  far  distant  for  social  defense.  .  .  . 
Most  of  them  have  clean,  neat  dwelling  houses,  white 
washed  within  and  without. 

The  chief  goods  which  the  French  traders  carried  with 
them  into  the  wilderness  for  barter  are  described  as  fol 
lows  in  "  Peter  Kalm's  Travels  into  North  America  " : 

Muskets,  Powder,  Shot,  and  Balls.  The  Europeans 
have  taught  the  Indians  in  their  neighbourhood  the  use  of 
fire-arms,  and  they  have  laid  aside  their  bows  and  arrows, 
which  were  formerly  their  only  arms,  and  make  use  of 
muskets.  If  the  Europeans  should  now  refuse  to  supply 
the  Indians  with  muskets,  they  would  be  starved  to  death; 
as  almost  all  their  food  consists  of  the  flesh  of  the  animals, 
which  they  hunt;  or  they  would  be  irritated  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  attack  the  Europeans.  .  .  . 

Pieces  of  white  cloth,  or  of  a  coarse  uncut  cloth.  The 
Indians  constantly  wear  such  pieces  of  cloth,  wrapping 
them  round  their  bodies.  Sometimes  they  hang  them  over 
their  shoulders ;  in  warm  weather,  they  fasten  them  round 
the  middle;  and  in  cold  weather,  they  put  them  over  the 
head.  Both  their  men  and  women  wear  these  pieces  of 
cloth,  which  have  commonly  several  blue  or  red  stripes  on 
the  edge. 

Blue  or  red  cloth.  Of  this  the  Indian  women  make  their 
petticoats,  which  reach  only  to  their  knees.  They  gener 
ally  chuse  the  blue  colour. 

Pieces  of  cloth,  which  they  wrap  round  their  legs  in 
stead  of  stockings,  like  the  Russians. 

Hatchets,  knives,  scissars,  needles,  and  a  steel  to  strike 
fire  with.  These  instruments  are  now  common  among  the 


1OO     Ihe  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Indians.  They  all  take  these  instruments  from  the  Euro 
peans,  and  reckon  the  hatchets  and  knives  much  better, 
than  those  which  they  formerly  made  of  stones  and  bones. 
The  stone  hatchets  of  the  ancient  Indians  are  very  rare  in 
Canada. 

Kettles  of  copper  or  brass,  sometimes  tinned  in  the  in 
side.  In  these  the  Indians  now  boil  all  their  meat,  and  they 
have  a  very  great  run  with  them. 

Ear-rings  of  different  sizes,  commonly  of  brass,  and 
sometimes  of  tin.  They  are  worn  by  both  men  and  women, 
though  the  use  of  them  is  not  general. 

Vermillion.  With  this  they  paint  their  face,  shirt,  and 
several  parts  of  the  body.  They  formerly  made  use  of  a 
reddish  earth,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  country;  but,  as 
the  Europeans  brought  them  vermillion,  they  thought  noth 
ing  was  comparable  to  it  in  colour.  Many  persons  have  told 
me,  that  they  had  heard  their  fathers  mention,  that  the 
first  Frenchmen  who  came  over  here,  got  a  great  heap  of 
furs  from  the  Indians,  for  three  times  as  much  cinnabar  as 
would  ly  [lie]  on  the  tip  of  a  knife. 

Verdigrease,  to  paint  their  faces  green.  For  the  black 
colour,  they  make  use  of  the  soot  at  the  bottom  of  their  ket 
tles,  and  daub  their  whole  face  with  it. 

Looking  glasses.  The  Indians  are  very  much  pleased 
with  them,  and  make  use  of  them  chiefly  when  they  want 
to  paint  themselves.  The  men  constantly  carry  their  look 
ing  glasses  with  them  on  all  their  journies;  but  the  women 
do  not.  The  men,  upon  the  whole,  are  more  fond  of  dress 
ing  than  the  women. 

Burning  glasses.  These  are  excellent  pieces  of  furniture 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Indians;  because  they  serve  to  light 


The  Fur-Trader  and  the  Indian       101 

the  pipe  without  any  trouble,  which  an  indolent  Indian  is 
very  fond  of. 

Tobacco  is  bought  by  the  northern  Indians,  in  whose 
country  it  will  not  grow.  The  southern  Indians  always 
plant  as  much  of  it  as  they  want  for  their  own  consump 
tion.  Tobacco  has  a  great  run  amongst  the  northern  In 
dians,  and  it  has  been  observed,  that  the  further  they  live 
to  the  northward,  the  more  they  smoke  of  tobacco. 

Wampum,  or,  as  they  are  here  called,  porcelanes.  They 
are  made  of  a  particular  kind  of  shells,  and  turned  into  little 
short  cylindrical  beads,  and  serve  the  Indians  for  money 
and  ornament. 

Glass  beads,  of  a  small  size,  and  white  or  other  colours. 
The  Indian  women  know  how  to  fasten  them  in  their  rib 
bands,  pouches,  and  clothes. 

Brass  and  steel  wire,  for  several  kinds  of  work. 

Brandy,  which  the  Indians  value  above  all  other  goods 
that  can  be  brought  them ;  nor  have  they  any  thing,  though 
ever  so  dear  to  them,  which  they  would  not  give  away  for 
this  liquor.  But,  on  account  of  the  many  irregularities 
which  are  caused  by  the  use  of  brandy,  the  sale  of  it  has 
been  prohibited  under  severe  penalties;  however,  they  do 
not  always  pay  an  implicit  obedience  to  this  order. 

THESE  are  the  «chief  goods  which  the  French  carry  to 
the  Indians,  and  they  have  a  good  run  among  them. 

Parkman  characterizes  these  frontier  types :  "  Those 
rude  and  hardy  men,  hunters  and  traders,  scouts  and  guides, 
who  ranged  the  woods  beyond  the  borders,  and  formed 
a  connecting  link  between  barbarism  and  civilization  were 
a  distinct  peculiar  class  marked  with  striking  contrasts 
of  good  and  evil." 


AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION  LASTED 

8J  YEARS 

of  which  there  were 

six   and    one   half 

years     of  fighting 

Lexington,  April  19,1775 

Yorktown,  Oct.  19, 1781 


and    two    inactive 

years  before  peace 

was  declared 

Sept.   3,  1783 


New    York    was 
evacuated  by  the 

British 

Nov.  25, 
17 


NORTHERN  CAMPAIGN 
Spring  of  1775  to  winter  of  1779-80 

SO UTHERN  CAMPAIGN 

Winter  of  1779-80to  autumn  of  1781 


IMPORTANT  BATTLES 

NEAR  BOSTON 
Lexington  and  Concord,  April  19, 1775 

Bunker  Hill June  17,  1775 

(Evacuation  of  Boston,  March  17, 1776) 

NEAR  NEW  YORK 

(Declaration  of  Independence, 

July  4.1776) 


ort  Washington N  ov.  16, 177'j 

(Eetreatof  Washington 

across  New  Jersey ) 
_  the  Delaware,  Dec.  25,  1776) 

reuton Dec.  26.  1770 

Princeton Jan.  3, 1777 

NEAR   PHILADELPHIA 

Brandy  wine , Sept  11,  1777 

Germantown Oct  4,  1777 

NEAR  SARATOGA 

Oriskany Aug.  6,  1777 

Bennington Aug.  16,  1777 

Saratoga  ( Surrender  of 

rgoyne),  Oct.  17,  1777 


( Washington  at  Valley  Forge, 
winter,  1777-78) 

Monmouth June  28,  1778 

IN  THE  SOUTH 

vannah , Oct.  9,  1779 

Charleston..., May  12,  1780 

Camden Aug.  16,1780 

King's  Mountain Oct.  7,  1780 

Cowpens  Jan.  17,  1781 

GuilfoH March  15,  1781 

EuUw  Springs , . . . .  Sept.  8,  1781 

Yorktown.  .  ...Oct.  19,  1781 


THE  ALGONQUIN  MEDICINE-BOY 
BY  FRANCIS  S.  PALMER 

Algonquins  from  the  Ottawa  River  were  making  an 
expedition  against  their  enemies,  the  Iroquois  —  the  re 
doubtable  Five  Nations,  whose  villages  extended  through 
what  is  now  northern  and  central  New  York.  Forty  canoes 
laden  with  swarthy  warriors  had  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence, 
passed  through  the  Richelieu,  and  were  in  the  northern 
waters  of  Lake  Champlain. 

For  years  the  Mohawks,  one  of  the  most  warlike  of  the 
Five  Nations, -had  brought  war  to  the  home  of  the  Algon 
quins,  and  a  counter  raid  was  being  made.  The  Canadian 
warriors  had  high  hopes  of  success,  since  French  soldiers 
from  Quebec  were  with  them,  and  the  white  man's  fire 
arm  was  still  a  terror  to  the  Indian.  Only  one  thought 
dampened  the  ardor  of  the  Algonquins.  Wahiawa,  their 
great  medicine-man,  skilled  in  planning  raids  and  wars, 
was  dead.  Wahiawa,  who  was  more  wily  than  any  magi 
cian  among  the  Iroquois ;  more  cunning  than  the  fox ;  more 
wise  than  the  serpent.  Wahiawa,  who,  as  it  was  rumored, 
could  not  be  killed  by  mortal  hand,  whose  name  was  a 
dread  to  all  enemies  of  the  Algonquins.  Disease  had  crept 
upon  him,  and  Wahiawa  was  dead. 

Forty  Algonquin  warriors  -were  in  each  of  thirty-nine 
canoes;  there  were  also  a  dozen  craft  carrying  the  French 
soldiers.  Another  canoe  held  two  warriors,  also  Anguel, 
the  medicine-man;  and  with  him  the  son  of  dead  Wahiawa, 

103 


104     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Uncoma,  a  lad  of  fourteen  who  came  to  see  how  his  people 
made  war. 

Anguel  rose  in  the  canoe  and  addressed  the  members  of 
the  little  fleet : 

"  It  is  time,  my  children,  to  land  and  build  our  camp. 
Then  Anguel  will  learn  whether  the  spirits  promise  victory 
if  you  fight  to-morrow." 

The  Indians  obeyed  and  went  ashore  on  the  island  since 
called  Isle  La  Motte.  A  small  wigwam  covered  with 
brightly  colored  skins  of  the  deer  and  moose  served  as  the 
medicine-man's  temple.  Into  this  crept  Anguel  to  com 
mune  with  the  deities.  Uncoma  stood  just  outside,  ready 
to  make  known  to  the  assembled  warriors  the  oracular 
words  spoken  to  Anguel. 

The  Frenchmen,  lounging  at  one  side  of  the  camp 
ground,  looked  with  scornful  eyes  at  the  solemn  concourse 
of  Indians.  They  thought  it  strange  such  stout  fighters 
could  be  so  childish. 

Now  the  slight  poles  of  the  wigwam  began  to  shake  as 
though  agitated  by  the  presence  of  mighty  spirits,  and  soon 
muttering  voices,  supposed  to  belong  to  the  gods  themselves, 
were  heard  in  earnest  converse  with  Anguel. 

"  The  spirits  say,"  interrupted  Uncoma,  "  you  must 
fight  to-morrow,  for  then  you  will  be  terrible  to  your  ene 
mies,  and  the  frightened  Iroquois  will  try  to  hide  himself 
beneath  the  moss  of  the  forest.  When  you  have  won  the 
battle,  you  shall  rest  and  feast,  giving  thanks  to  the  gods 
and  presents  to  the  medicine-man." 

The  assembly  broke  up,  and  a  roughly  fortified  camp 
was  built;  now  they  were  in  the  land  of  the  Iroquois,  and 
it  would  not  do  to  be  careless.  That  night  Uncoma  lay 
by  the  side  of  his  instructor,  Anguel, 


The  Algonquin  Medicine-Boy          105 

"  Tell  me,"  said  the  boy,  "  why  do  you  deceive  the  war 
riors  ?  They  thought  spirits  shook  the  tent,  but  I  saw  your 
hand  grasping  the  poles,  and  it  was  you,  not  the  spirits,  that 
spoke." 

"  O   son   of   Wahiawa,"    replied   Anguel,    "  your   father 

^m  ¥ 


"  Canoes  laden  with  swarthy  warriors  had  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence." 

could  persuade  men  by  his  wisdom ;  but  we  lesser  prophets 
must  deceive  if  we  would  keep  our  influence.  It  is  right  for 
these  dull  warriors  to  fight  to-morrow,  for  they  are  now 
well  fed  and  in  good  courage ;  it  is  for  their  advantage,  and 
so  I  thought  it  wise  to  say  the  gods  bade  them  fight." 

This  reasoning  did  not  quite  satisfy  Uncoma,  and  he  fell 
asleep  pondering  over  the  duties  of  a  medicine-man.  He 
was  almost  sorry  to  think  of  what  might  come  to  him  in 
the  office  he  inherited. 

By  sunrise  the  canoes  were  again  journeying  southward, 
stealing  along  the  west  shore  of  the  lake.  During  the  fore 
noon  the  Algonquins  saw  smoke  as  of  camp-fires  rising  into 


1O6     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

the  air  above  a  wooded  point  which  stretched  far  into  the 
water.  Scouts  were  sent  forward  to  learn  the  cause. 
They  reported  a  camp  of  Dutch  traders  from  Fort  Orange, 
and,  gathered  around  the  traders,  many  Mohawk  wig 
wams.  An  attack  was  planned,  and  soon  the  Iroquois, 
busy  in  exchanging  furs  for  the  wares  of  the  white  man, 
were  startled  by  the  war-cry  of  the  Algonquins. 

The  Mohawks,  assisted  by  the  Dutchmen,  intrenched 
themselves  behind  a  rude  barricade,  and  tried  to  make  a 
stand  against  the  invaders. 

The  commander  of  the  French  soldiers  called  on  the 
besieged  men  to  surrender;  but  even  he  doubted  his  ability 
to  protect  prisoners  from  the  fury  of  his  savage  allies;  the 
band  inside  the  barricade  seemed  willing  to  die,  but  not  to 
became  captives. 

Though  the  fight  was  stubborn,  every  advantage  was  in 
favor  of  the  attacking  party,  and  before  sunset  the  only 
survivors  of  the  band  that  defended  the  barricade  were  a 
few  Mohawk  warriors  who  had  been  wounded  and  made 
prisoners.  The  Dutchmen  were  all  slain,  their  breastplates 
being  no  protection  against  the  skilled  bowmen  of  the 
Algonquins. 

Uncoma  was  kept  in  the  background  during  the  fighting; 
but  now  that  the  battle  was  over  he  ran  forward  to  ex 
amine  the  strange  accoutrements  of  the  Dutchmen.  Back 
of  the  barricade  he  noticed  a  mound  of  leaves  rudely  heaped 
together.  Throwing  these  aside,  he  saw  the  rounded  top 
of  a  steel  breastplate,  from  beneath  which  a  faint  sound 
was  heard.  A  hole  had  been  dug,  and  covered  by  the 
breastplate;  in  this  cavity  was  a  flaxen-haired  white  child, 
a  girl  less  than  twelve  years  old. 

The  little  girl  might  have  been  slain  by  the  victorious 


The  Algonquin  Medicine-Boy          107 

Indians  had  not  Uncoma  restrained  them.  He  comforted 
her  as  best  he  could,  and  led  her  away  from  the  bloody 
scene.  She  knew  a  few  words  of  the  Indian  language,  and 
thus  could  give  some  account  of  herself.  Her  father,  who 
had  come  north  to  barter  with  the  friendly  Mohawks,  had 
brought  her  with  him.  There  seemed  but  little  danger, 
as  the  terror  of  the  Mohawk  warriors  usually  kept  the 
Champlain  region  clear  of  hostile  Indians.  When  the 
camp  was  attacked,  her  father  had  put  her  where  he 
thought  she  would  be  safe  from  the  Indian  arrows.  Now 
her  father  was  killed,  and  his  Gretchen  a  captive  among 
the  cruel  Algonquins  —  tales  of  whom  had  so  fright 
ened  her. 

44  Do  not  fear,"  said  Uncoma.  "  They  shall  not  hurt 
you.  I  am  the  son  of  Wahiawa,  and,  young  as  I  am,  can 
protect  you." 

Although  Uncoma  spoke  thus  boldly,  he  had  some  mis 
givings,  and  that  night  he  questioned  Anguel  as  to  the 
probable  fate  of  the  captive. 

"  Already,"  said  the  medicine-man,  "  the  warriors  are 
drinking  the  liquors  brought  by  the  Dutch  traders;  to-mor 
row  every  Indian  will  be  wild  and  bloodthirsty.  It  is  use 
less  for  even  you  —  son  of  Wahiawa,  and  the  only  Serpent 
left  among  the  Algonquins  —  to  attempt  to  interfere  for 
the  captives.  Moreover,  the  law  of  the  tribe  gives  warriors 
the  right  to  prisoners  taken  in  battle." 

Uncoma  lay  awake  thinking.  The  white  child  who  al 
ready  had  roused  his  pity  and  friendship  must  not  be 
abandoned  to  the  cruel  warriors.  The  lad  resolved  upon  a 
plan  to  save  her  —  a  plan  which  kept  his  thoughts  busy  un 
til  far  into  the  night. 

It  was  past  midnight  when  Uncoma   grasped   his  bow 


io8     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

and  arrows,  slipped  from  the  side  of  the  sleeping  Anguel, 
and  stole  away  into  the  darkness. 

Stealthily  he  flitted  through  the  woods  to  where  the  cap 
tives  were.  The  guards  seemed  sleepy  or  maybe  tipsy,  and 
it  was  an  easy  matter  to  move  to  the  spot  in  which  the 
Dutch  girl  had  sobbed  herself  to  sleep.  He  lifted  his 
knife  to  sever  the  few  thongs  that  bound  her.  His  foot 
must  have  pressed  somewhat  too  heavily  upon  the 

moss,  for  a  twig- 
snapped  beneath  it, 
with  a  sharp  re 
port.  An  Indian 
guard  close  to  Un- 
coma's  side  started 
and  peered  around. 
The  boy  knew  the 
surer  way  to  si 
lence  this  fellow 
was  to  plunge  the 
knife  into  his 
^jiMrjtT  heart :  what  mat- 

. 

.    ^.^..^^^.^^^ 

T 

„     Yet    Uncoma    had 

He  built  a  fire  and  roasted  the  grouse. 

enlisted  in  the 
cause  of  mercy,  and  this  would  be  a  bad  beginning. 

"Lie  still  and  close  your  eyes,  friend,"  he  whispered  to 
the  guard,  "  or  you  will  anger  the  spirits  with  whom  I,  Un 
coma,  am  communing." 

In  supernatural  awe  the  sentinel  buried  his  face  in  the 
moss.  Uncoma  cut  the  thongs,  and  the  child  awoke  from 
troubled  dreams  to  see  the  kind  face  of  her  boy  protector. 


He  signed  her  to  follow  as  silently  and  quickly  as  she 
could.  Both  wore  moccasins  and  moved  with  inaudible 
footsteps.  When  out  of  hearing  of  the  guards,  Uncoma 
seized  the  girl's  hand  and  ran  as  fast  as  the  darkness  and 
roughness  of  their  path  would  allow.  He  did  not  -slacken 
the  pace  until  Gretchen  was  breathless.  Then  they  walked 
again,  and,  as  it  seemed  to  her,  had  walked  many  miles 
when  a  gray  light  in  the  east  foretold  the  dawn,  and  Un 
coma  permitted  a  halt. 

The  girl  was  hungry,  and  cried  for  food.  Uncoma,  in 
his  anxiety  to  rescue  her,  had  forgotten  to  bring  provisions. 
But  he  had  bow  and  arrows,  and  there  must  be  game  in  the 
woods.  Leaving  his  tired  and  weeping  charge,  he  started 
forth.  The  forest  creatures  were  hardly  awake,  and  it  be 
gan  to  seem  as  though  he  must  return  empty-handed,  when 
he  noticed  some  little  balls  on  the  branch  of  a  spruce-tree. 
Uncoma  stepped  nearer  and  saw  each  ball  was  a  fluffy 
mass  of  feathers.  His  arrow  sped  from  the  bow,  and  a 
half -grown  grouse  fell  to  the  ground.  The  noise  of  the 
arrow,  and  the  fall  on  the  dry  leaves  below,  alarmed  the  old 
bird;  in  a  moment  she  was  alert.  Before  the  boy  could  fit 
another  arrow  to  the  bow,  she  was  off  and  her  young  ones 
whirring  after  her. 

The  young  grouse  he  had  killed  was  no  larger  than  a 
pigeon,  but  it  would  make  a  breakfast  for  the  child.  As 
for  himself,  like  most  Indian  boys,  he  was  trained  to  bear 
privation,  and  took  pride  in  showing  indifference  to  hun 
ger. 

He  returned  to  Gretchen,  built  a  fire,  and  roasted  the 
grouse.  While  she  breakfasted  he  unfolded  his  plan. 
They  would  follow  some  trail  to  a  Mohawk  village.  As 
the  Mohawks  were  friends  of  the  Dutch,  she  would  then 


11O     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

be  safe;  but  he,  Uncoma,  must  leave  her  at  the  village  out 
skirts,  and  return  to  Canada  as  best  he  could.  An  Algon 
quin  lad  could  expect  no  mercy  from  the  Mohawks. 

Uncoma  was  making  a  couch  for  the  tired  child  by 
spreading  his  mantle  of  beaver-skins  over  the  moss,  when  a 
scream  from  her  caused  him  to  look  up.  She  was  staring 
at  a  bushy  evergreen,  where  its  heavy  lower  branches 
rested  upon  the  ground.  Following  her  glance,  he  saw  a 
pair  of  menacing  eyes  gleaming  from  out  the  shadows. 
The  young  savage  had  been  taught  to  act  promptly;  he 
seized  his  most  deadly  weapon  —  the  keen  flint  tomahawk 
thrust  through  his  belt  —  and  hurled  it  at  the  peering  eyes. 
There  was  an  angry  howl,  and  Uncoma,  grasped  from  be 
hind,  was  thrown  to  the  ground. 

A  dozen  dusky  figures  glided  from  out  the  underbrush, 
and  the  tall  Mohawk  warrior  who  had  seized  Uncoma 
stood  over  him,  looking  down  with  a  grim  frown. 

:<  Why  is  the  Algonquin  boy  and  the  white  child  in  the 
land  of  the  Mohawks?  See,  he  is  too  quick  with  his  toma 
hawk." 

From  under  the  evergreen  an  Indian  was  crawling.  The 
boy's  weapon  had  gashed  his  ear,  and  the  warrior  was 
furious  with  pain  and  outraged  dignity.  He  moved  to 
where  Uncoma  lay,  and  raised  his  knife. 

"  This  whelp  of  the  Algonquins  must  die,"  he  muttered, 
"  or  the  wound  of  the  Mohawk  brave  will  not  heal." 

Gretchen,  who  was  watching  with  terrified  eyes,  screamed 
wildly;  but  Uncoma  looked  at  the  raised  steel  with  steady 
gaze,  though  his  hand  convulsively  clutched  the  earth. 
Perhaps  this  movement  saved  his  life,  for.  as  the  blade  was 
about  to  descend,  one  of  the  warriors  caught  and  held  the 
avenging  arm.  "See!"  he  cried,  "on  the  boy's  wrist  is 


the  totem  of  the  Serpent-clan  —  the  clan  of  great  medicine 
men  which  is  sacred  among  all  the  tribes  of  the  lakes  and 
the  river.  He  must  not  be  killed." 

The  warriors  crowded  around  to  gaze  at  the  image  of 
the  rattlesnake  tattooed  on  the  boy's  wrist  —  the  sacred 
symbol  worn  only  by  the  chief  magicians  and  their  chosen 
successors. 

Uncoma  was  ignorant  of  the  full  power  of  the  totem 
which  his  father,  Wahiawa,  had  tattooed  upon  his  wrist, 
and  which  he  alone  of  all  Algonquins  now  had  the  right 
to  wear;  even  if  he  had  known  its  power,  the  morbid  pride 
of  an  Indian  might  have  forbidden  his  taking  advantage 
of  it  to  escape  death.  He  was  still  solicitous  for  the  wel 
fare  of  the  little  maid,  and  so  assumed  all  the  dignity  of  his 
priestly  rank  as  he  addressed  the  now  submissive  Mohawks : 


See !  "  he  cried,  "  on  the  boy's  wrist  is  the  token  of  the  Serpent  Clan ! 
He  must  not  be  killed." 


112     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

'  Take  this  child  safely  and  quickly  to  her  people  at 
Fort  Orange;  as  for  me,  I  wish  guides  to  the  great  river 
which  flows  between  the  lands  of  the  Iroquois  and  the 
Algonquins.  Tell  the  Serpents  of  the  Iroquois  that  among 
the  Algonquins  one  only  of  their  clan  is  alive,  and  he  soon 
will  visit  them  to  be  taught  the  secrets  of  the  sacred  wam 
pum." 

Yellow-haired  Gretchen  wept  at  parting  with  her  young 
protector ;  but  Uncoma  did  not  dare  unbend  his  dignity,  and 
contented  himself  with  ordering  the  Indians  to  take  her 
safely  to  her  people,  or  else  fear  the  wrath  of  the  Great 
Spirit.  The  Mohawks  then  separated  into  two  parties : 
Gretchen,  placed  on  a  litter,  was  carried  southward  toward 
Fort  Orange;  while  the  guides  of  Uncoma  took  a  north 
west  course  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 

The  boy  felt  safe  among  his  new  friends,  and  so  bade 
them  take  him  direct  to  Canada.  He  feared  to  let  them 
know  the  existence  of  the  Algonquin  war-party. 

In  due  season  Gretchen  reached  the  Dutch  settlement, 
and  told  of  the  destruction  of  the  trading-party  and  her 
own  rescue  by  the  medicine-boy. 

For  many  years  Uncoma,  last  of  his  line  and  chief  medi 
cine-man  of  the  Algonquins,  wisely  guided  his  people;  but 
even  he  could  not  prevent  the  gradual  annihilation  to  which 
they  were  doomed.  In  the  latter  days,  when  the  Algon 
quin  name  was  almost  forgotten,  an  aged  Indian  stalked 
among  the  huts  of  Montreal.  The  good  priests  looked 
upon  old  Uncoma  with  kindly  eyes,  for  his  was  a  voice 
that  had  always  been  heard  for  peace  and  mercy. 


IN  1776 
BY  W.  H.  VENABLE 

In  1776  the  region  west  of  the  Alleghanies  was  styled 
The  Wilderness,  and  only  a  few  bold  spirits,  like  Daniel 
Boone,  had  dared  to  penetrate  its  solitude.  The  Rocky, 
then  called  Stony,  Mountains  were  known  to  exist,  but  no 
white  man  had  explored  them. 

The  journey  from  Baltimore  to  Pittsburg  took  twelve 
days,  and  was  not  only  toilsome,  but  dangerous,  for  hostile 
Indians  lurked  in  the  woods.  Wagons  often  stuck  fast  in 
the  mire,  or  broke  down  on  "  corduroy  "  roads  made  of 
logs  laid  side  by  side  in  the  mud.  Tfre  heavy  stage-coach 
of  early  times,  although  it  made  great  show  of  speed  when 
dashing  through  a  village,  was  as  long  in  lumbering  from 
New  York  to  Boston  as  a  modern  express  train  is  in  cross 
ing  the  continent.  In  great  contrast  with  the  present  mode 
of  traveling  was  the  journey  made  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  in 
the  year  1775,  when  he  went  in  a  carriage  from  Williams- 
burg,  Virginia,  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  ten  days  on  the 
road,  and  twice  was  obliged  to  hire  a  guide,  to  show  the 
way  to  the  largest  city  in  the  country.  In  1777,  Elkanah 
Watson  rode  from  Newbern  to  Wilmington,  North  Caro 
lina,  on  horseback,  and  not  only  lost  his  way,  but  was  em 
barrassed  further  by  meeting  a  large  bear. 

A  person  traveling  in  New  England  in  1776  would  have 
found  there  a  frugal  and  industrious  people,  dwelling  gen 
erally  in  or  near  villages,  and  employed  mainly  in  trade  and 
s  113 


114     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


" -! 3Z--  /  - »         '        / 


tillage.  He  might  have  seen,  in  the  older  towns,  factories 
for  the  making  of  cloth,  hats,  shoes,  axes,  ropes,  paper,  and 
guns ;  and  with  a  sailboat  he  might  have  visited  flourishing 
fisheries  off  the  coast.  The  life  and  habits  of  the  common 
people  were  extremely  simple.  The  furniture  of  an  ordi 
nary  house  in  1776,  was  scanty,  plain,  and  cheap.  In  many 
houses,  the  floor  had  no  carpet,  and  the  walls  of  that  day 
had  no  paper  nor  paint.  Neither  pumps  nor  cooking- 
stoves  were  in  use.  The  sofa  was  a  high-backed  bench  of 
unpainted  wood.  The  rude,  low  bedstead  was  honored  al 
most  always  with  a  coat  of  green  paint.  The  sewing-ma 
chine  was  not  dreamed  of;  but  the  spinning-wheel,  flax-dis 
taff,  and  yarn-reel  found  a  place  in  all  houses,  and  the 
weaver's  loom  could  be  seen  in  many. 

Queen's-ware,  or  glazed  earthenware,  was  unknown,  yet 
well-to-do  families  often  had  sets  of  small  china  cups  and 
saucers.  The  rich  took  pride  in  displaying  urns  and  salvers 
of  pure  silver.  There  was  no  plated  ware.  The  table  was 
set  with  dishes  of  wood  and  of  pewter. 

Our  forefathers  depended  upon  the  tallow  candle  and 
the  lard-oil  lamp  for  artificial  light.  They  knew  nothing 
of  kerosene,  gas,  and  sulphur  matches.  The  embers  in  the 


In   1776  115 

fireplace  were  seldom  suffered  to  burn  out,  but  when  the 
last  coal  chanced  to  expire,  the  fire  \vas  rekindled  by  strik 
ing  a  spark  from  a  flint  into  a  piece  of  tinder.  Sometimes 
a  burning  brand  was  borrowed  from  the  hearth  of  a 
neighbor. 

The  dress  of  the  common  folk  in  town  and  country  was 
more  for  use  than  beauty.  A  pair  of  buckskin  breeches 
and  a  corduroy  coat  formed  the  essentials  of  a  man's  suit, 
and  they  never  w-ore  out.  After  the  breeches  had  been 
rained  upon  a  few  times  they  hardened  into  a  garment 
more  durable  than  comfortable. 

The  wearing  apparel  of  fashionable  people  of  the  city, 
however,  was  very  gay  and  picturesque.  Men  wore  knee- 
breeches  and  hose,  broad-skirted  coats  lined  with  buckram, 
long  waistcoats,  sometimes  of  gold-cloth,  wide  cuffs  lined 
with  lace,  powdered  wigs,  three-cornered  hats,  and  swords. 
Women's  dresses  were  made  of  heavy  silks  and  satins,  called 


The  act  of  offering  and  receiving  a  pinch  of  snuff. 


n6     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

brocades,  on  which  raised  figures  of  leaves  and  flowers  were 
woven,  or  wrorked,  in  colored  silk  or  thread  of  silver  and 
gold. 

Both  sexes  took  pains  in  dressing  the  hair.  A  stylish 
gentleman  had  his  locks  curled  and  frizzed,  or  suspended 
in  a  queue,  as  you  have  often  seen  in  old  pictures.  A  New 
England  belle  spent  many  hours  in  plastering  her  hair  up 
into  a  sort  of  tower,  decorated  with  powder  and  ribbons. 

There  were  few,  if  any,  millionaires  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Republic,  and  the  power  of  money  was  not  felt  as 
it  is  now.  However,  the  aristocracy  was  less  approachable 
by  the  common  people  than  are  the  higher  circles  of  to-day, 
or,  probably,  of  the  future.  This  was  owing  to  the  fact 
that,  at  that  time,  American  society  was  mainly  copied  after 
the  English  system,  in  which  rank  and  title  play  an  impor 
tant  part;  and  also  to  the  influence  of  slavery,  which  ex 
isted  in  all  the  States. 

Magistrates  and  clergymen  were  regarded,  in  New  Eng 
land,  with  extreme  respect  and  reverence.  Had  our 
traveler  dropped  into  a  Puritan  meeting-house,  and  sat 
through  the  service,  he  would  have  seen  the  minister  and 
his  family  walk  solemnly  down  the  aisle  and  through  the 
doorway  before  the  congregation  presumed  to  leave  the 
pews. 

The  New  England  country  people  combined  amusement 
with  work  at  their  house-raisings,  quilting  parties,  and 
like  gatherings.  The  poet  Bryant  speaks  of  the  process 
of  cider-making  as  one  that  "  came  in  among  the  more 
laborious  rural  occupations  in  a  way  which  diversified 
them  pleasantly,  and  which  made  it  seem  a  pastime.  The 
time  that  was  given  to  making  cider,  and  the  number  of 
barrels  made  and  stored  in  the  cellars  of  the  farm-houses, 


In   1776 


117 


v 


would  now  seem  incredible.     A  hundred  barrels  to  a  single 
farm  was  no  uncommon  proportion." 

"  But,"  says  Doctor  Greene,  in  his  charming  "  Short  His 
tory  of  Rhode  Island,"  "  the  great  pastime  for  young  and 
old,  for  matron  and  maid  and  for 
youth  just  blushing  into  manhood, 
was  the  autumn  husking,  where 
neighbors  met  at  each  other's  corn- 
yards  to  husk  each  other's  corn  — 
sometimes  husking  a  thousand 
bushels  in  a  single  meeting. 
Husking  had  its  laws,  and  never 
were  laws  better  obeyed.  For 
every  red  ear,  the  lucky  swain  who 
had  found  it  could  claim  a  kiss 
from  every  maid ;  with  every 
smutted  ear  he  smutched  the  faces 
of  his  mates,  amid  laughter  and 
joyous  shoutings ;  but  when  the 
prize  fell  to  a  girl,  she  would  walk 
the  round  demurely,  look  each 
eager  aspirant  in  the  face,  and 
hide  or  reveal  the  secret  of  her 

heart  by  a  kiss.     Then  came  the 

dance    and    supper,    running   deep    [  -3 

into  the  night,  and  often  encroaching  upon  the  early  dawn." 
Our  traveler  would  be  interested  in  Salem,  next  to  the 
largest  town  in  New  England,  and  a  flourishing  sea-port; 
and  he  certainly  would  have  gone  to  Boston,  then,  as  now, 
a  center  of  education  and  culture.  Many  of  the  streets 
of  Boston  were  narrow  and  crooked.  Shops  and  inns  were 
distinguished  in  Boston,  as  in  other  cities  and  towns,  by 


ll8     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

pictorial  signs  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  could  not  read. 
One  did  not  look  for  a  lettered  board,  nor  a  number  over 
the  street  door,  but  for  the  sign  of  the,  "  Bunch  of  Feath 
ers,"  the  "  Golden  Key,"  the  "  Dog  and  Pot,"  or  the 
"  Three  Doves." 

Had  our  traveler  passed  from  New  England  to  the  State 
of  New  York,  say  at  Albany,  he  would  have  had  evidence 
that  the  frontier  was  not  far  off.  Goods  sent  from  Albany 
to  supply  the  Indian  trade,  and  the  forts  and  settlements 
out  West,  were  hauled  in  wagons  to  Schenectady,  then 
loaded  in  light  boats,  and  poled  up  the  Mohawk  to  Fort 
Schuyler,  then  carried  across  to  Wood  Creek,  and  again 
transported  in  boats  down  Oneida  Lake  and  Osage  River  to 
the  great  lakes.  The  town  of  Albany  was,  at  that  time,  a 
quiet,  shady,  delightful  place,  with  cow-bells  tinkling  in  the 
streets.  Lazy  Indians  went  lounging  about  the  principal 
thoroughfares  with  bead-work  and  baskets  to  sell. 

New  York  State  continued  to  show  evidence  of  Dutch 
customs,  as  could  be  seen  by  going  down  the  Hudson  from 
Albany  to  Manhattan  Island.  The  trip  was  taken  in  regu 
lar  passenger  sloops.  The  scenery  along  the  Hudson  wras 
grander  than  now,  for  the  wild  forest  had  not  disappeared 
from  the  hills.  The  passenger  saw  no  large  towns  nor  vil 
lages,  but  farm-houses  nestled  in  the  rich  hollows,  and  the 
Dutch/' bouweries  "  or  farms  spread  to  view  broad  acres 
of  corn  and  tobacco,  and  thrifty  orchards  of  apple  and 
pear  trees.  Just  below  Albany  the  family  mansion  and 
great  barns  of  General  Schuyler  used  to  stand.  The  good 
general  had  many  negro  slaves, —  indolent  fellows,  who 
were  scared  into  occasional  fits  of  work  by  the  threat  that 
they  should  be  sent  to  the  West  Indies,  and  traded  off  for 
rum  and  molasses. 


In   1776 


119 


New  York  City  was  an  important  commercial  center, 
larger  than  Boston,  but  not  so  large  as  Philadelphia.  It 
occupied  but  a  small  part  of  the  southern  end  of  Manhat 
tan  Island,  the  whole  of  which  it  now  covers.  Most  of  its 
streets  were  narrow  and  crooked.  Tradition  says  that  the 
Dutch  settlers  built  their  houses  along  the  winding  courses 


Colonial  spinet  and  chest. 

of  cow-paths.  Broadway,  however,  was  a  fine  street,  even 
in  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  and  gave  promise  then  of 
the  splendor  it  afterward  attained.  New  York  City,  in 
1776,  was  lighted  dimly  with  oil-lamps.  Burning  gas  did 
not  come  into  use  till  forty  years  later.  Not  unusually  the 
Xew  York  houses  were  built  with  a  flat  space  on  the  roof, 
surrounded  by  a  railing,  where  the  people  came  out  on 
the  house-tops  on  summer  evenings  to  enjoy  the  pleasant 
breeze  from  the  bay. 

Our  traveler  would  have  visited  Philadelphia,  the  largest 
city  in  America,  and  the  capital  of  the  Republic.  There  he 
might  have  seen  many  evidences  of  wealth  and  social  re- 


12O     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

finement.  There  were  to  be  found  noted  public  men  from 
different  parts  of  the  country.  The  wise  and  benevolent 
Franklin  lived  there.  There  Congress  met,  and  there 
Washington  dwelt  during  the  greater  part  of  his  adminis 
trations. 

Philadelphia  society  claimed  to  lead  the  fashion  in  dress 
and  amusements,  though  New  York,  Williamsburg,  Charles- 


A  colonial  belle. 

ton,  and  other  places  disputed  this  preeminence.  Fashion 
able  people  frequently  gave  formal  dinner-parties.  The 
lady  guests,  robed  in  their  stiff  brocades,  were  handed  from 
their  coaches  and  sedans,  and  daintily  stepped  to  the  door 
of  the  reception-room.  A  sedan  was  a  covered  chair  for 
carrying  a  single  person,  borne  on  poles  in  the  hands  of 
two  men,  usually  negroes.  The  dinner  consisted  of  four 
courses,  with  abundance  of  wine.  The  health  of  every 


In   1776  121 

guest  at  table  had  to  be  drunk  separately,  at  least  once  dur 
ing  the  sitting,  as  to  neglect  this  compliment  was  considered 
a  breach  of  politeness. 

After  dinner,  a  game  of  whist  was  in  order.  Smoking 
was  not  fashionable,  but  every  gentleman  carried  a  snuff 
box,  and  the  act  of  offering  and  receiving  a  pinch  of  snuff 
was  performed  with  profound  ceremony. 

Dancing  was  a  favorite  amusement  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  General  Greene  tells  us  that,  on  a  certain  occa 
sion,  George  Washington  danced  for  three  hours  without 
once  sitting  down.  No  doubt  the  stately  Virginian  chose  to 
tread  the  dignified  measure  of  the  contra-dance  rather  than 
to  trip  through  the  lighter  movements  of  the  minuet.  The 
quadrilles  and  round  dances  of  our  day  were  unknown  in 
1776. 

The  violin  \vas  held  in  high  esteem,  especially  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States.  Thomas  Jefferson  said  of 
Patrick  Henry,  that  "  his  passion  was  for  fiddling,  danc 
ing,  and  pleasantry."  Jefferson  was  himself  famous  for 
attending  balls.  Once,  when  he  was  away  from  home,  his 
father's  house  burned  down.  A  slave  was  sent  to  tell  this 
bad  news  to  his  young  master  Thomas. 

"  Didn't  you  save  any  of  my  books?  "  asked  the  future 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  No,  massa,"  answered  the  ebony  messenger ;  "  but  we 
saved  the  fiddle !  " 

It  was  customary  for  young  ladies  to  take  lessons  on  the 
harpsichord  or  the  spinet,  as  they  do  nowadays  on  the 
piano- forte. 

Our  traveler,  extending  his  journey  to  the  Southern 
States,  would  have  found  few  towns  of  considerable  size, 
excepting  Williamsburg  and  Richmond,  in  Virginia,  and 


122     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Wealthy  planters  of  cotton 
and  rice  owned  most  of  the  fertile  land.  The  Fairfax  es 
tate,  on  the  Potomac,  had  five  million  acres.  It  was  quite 
an  expedition  to  go  from  one  planter's  house  to  another,  for 
the  distance,  in  some  cases,  was  as  much  as  ten  or  twelve 
miles,  and  the  roads  were  bad.  When  a  visit  was  under 
taken,  the  great  family  coach,  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses, 
driven  by  a  pompous  black  coachman,  conveyed  the  ladies, 
while  the  gentlemen  of  the  party  went  on  horseback.  Not 
unfrequently  ladies  rode  behind  gentlemen,  mounted  on 
cushions,  called  pillions;  but  the  more  independent  of  the 
"  fair  sex"  preferred  to  manage  their  own  palfrey,  and  to 
grace  the  saddle  alone.  Colored  servants,  riding*  upon 
mules,  jogged  after  their  masters  and  mistresses,  to  carry 
bandboxes  and  parcels,  and  to  open  gates. 

Southern  estates  were  distinguished  by  descriptive  names, 
such  as  "  Mount  Vernon,"  "  Monticello,"  "  Ingleside," 
"  The  Oaks."  Particular  mansions  were  known,  also,  by 
romantic  titles, —  such  as  "  Belvoir,"  "  Liberty  Hall," 
"  Greenway  Court," — reminding  us  of  old  English  manor- 
houses.  Such  Southern  mansions  were  large  and  strongly 
built,  and  some  of  them  were  costly  and  elegant.  k'  Dray- 
ton  Hall,"  on  Ashley  River,  cost  ninety  thousand  dollars  — 
a  vast  sum  to  spend  on  a  house  at  the  period  of  which  I 
write.  "  Drayton  Hall  "  is  yet  standing,  a  fair  specimen 
of  old-fashioned  architecture.  The  wainscot  and  mantels 
are  of  solid  mahogany.  The  walls  were  once  hung  with 
tapestry. 

The  planters,  like  the  English  rural  gentry,  laid  off  their 
grounds  with  terraces,  hedges,  and  ponds,  and  adorned  them 
with  shrubbery,  summer-houses,  and  statuary.  Many  lived 
at  ease  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  They  had  much  pride,  and 


In  1776 


123 


looked  down  upon  the  laboring  and  trading  classes  of  the 
North.  All  their  work  was  done  by  slaves.  The  planters' 
sons  were  sent  to  the  mother-country  to  be  educated.  The 
daughters  were  instructed  by  private  tutors. 

Most  fine  gentlemen  were  fond  of  fine  horses  and  dogs. 
There  is  a  flavor  of  romance  in  the  page  of  history  that 
tells  of  Washington  and  his  friends  dashing  through  the 
forests  of  the  Old  Dominion,  to  the  music  of  hound  and 
horn. 


Early  stage-coach  dashing  through  a  village. 


124     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

The  times  of  which  this  article  treats  are  often  spoken  of 
as  the  "  good  old  days"  of  our  ancestors;  we  should  be 
strangely  at  loss  if  we  had  to  live  in  those  good  old  ways. 
We  should  consider  it  inconvenient  enough  to  do  without 
steam-boats,  railroad,  telegraph,  and  daily  newspaper,  not 
to  mention  horse-cars,  express  companies,  letter-carriers, 
and  the  telephone. 

The  farmer  of  1776  had  no  grain-drill,  harvester,  or 
threshing-machine;  and  even  his  plow,  ax,  and  hay-fork 
were  so  rude  and  clumsy  that  a  modern  laborer  would  laugh 
at  them. 

How  great,  to-day,  should  we  regard  the  general  loss, 
were  the  shipper  deprived  of  his  grain-elevator;  the  mer 
chant  of  his  fire-proof  safe;  the  publisher  of  his  revolving 
press;  the  surgeon  of  the  use  of  ether;  the  physician  of  vac 
cination;  the  cripple  of  artificial  limbs;  the  writer  of  en 
velopes  and  metallic  pens;  the  ladies  of  pins,  and  hooks  and 
eyes ;  the  soldier  of  his  breech-loading  gun !  All  the  articles 
and  arts  above  enumerated,  and  many  more  now  considered 
essential  to  comfort  and  convenience,  are  of  modern  inven 
tion.  A  hundred  years  ago  they  did  not  exist. 


THE  AMERICAN  PATRIOT'S  PRAYER  " 
(1776) 

Anonymous :     Ascribed  to  Thomas  Paine. 

Parent  of  all,  omnipotent 

In  heav'n,  and  earth  below, 
Thro'  all  creation's  bounds  unspent, 

Whose  streams  of  goodness  flow. 

Teach  me  to  know  from  whence  I  rose, 

And  unto  what  design'd ; 
No  private  aims  let  me  propose, 

Since  link'd  with  human  kind. 

But  chief  to  hear  my  country's  voice, 

May  all  my.  thoughts  incline, 
'T  is  reason's  law,  't  is  virtue's  choice, 

'T  is  nature's  call  and  thine. 

Me  from  fair  freedom's  sacred  cause, 

Let  nothing  e'er  divide ; 
Grandeur,  nor  gold,  nor  vain  applause, 

Nor  friendship  false  misguide. 

Let  me  not  faction's  partial  hate 

Pursue  to  this  load's  *  woe ; 
Nor  grasp  the  thunder  of  the  state, 

To  wound  a  private  foe. 

If,  for  the  right,  to  wish  the  wrong 

My  country  shall  combine, 
Single  to  serve  th'  erron'ous  throng, 

Spight  of  themselves,  be  mine. 


*  Misprint    for    "land's." 


A  TORY  ARGUMENT 
BY  REV.  ANDREW  BURNABY 

(Written  in  1775) 

The  present  unhappy  differences  subsisting  among  us, 
with  regard  to  America,  will,  I  am  sensible,  expose  the  pub 
lication  of  this  account  to  much  censure  and  criticism;  but 
I  can  truly  aver,  that  I  have  been  led  to  it,  by  no  party 
motive  whatsoever.  My  first  attachment,  as  it  is  natural, 
is  to  my  native  country ;  my  next  is  to  America ;  and  such 
is  my  affection  for  both,  that  I  hope  nothing  will  ever  hap 
pen  to  dissolve  that  union,  which  is  so  necessary  to  their 
common  happiness.  Let  every  Englishman  and  American, 
but  for  a  moment  or  two,  substitude  [-te]  themselves  in  each 
other's  place,  and,  I  think,  a  mode  of  reconciliation  will 
soon  take  effect. —  Every  American  will  then  perceive  the 
reasonableness,  of  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  the  Brit 
ish  legislature;  and  every  Englishman  perhaps,  the 
hardship  of  being  taxed  where  there  is  no  representation, 
or  assent. 

There  is  scarcely  any  such  thing,  I  believe,  as  a  perfect 
government,  and  solecisms  are  to  be  found  in  all.  The 
present  disputes  are  seemingly  the  result  of  one. —  Noth 
ing  can  be  more  undeniable  than  the  supremacy  of  parlia 
ment  over  the  most  distant  branches  of  the  British  empire: 
for  although  the  king  being  esteemed,  in  the  eye  of  the  law, 
the  original  proprietor  of  all  the  lands  in  the  kingdom;  all 

126 


A  Tory  Argument  127 

lands,  upon  defect  of  heirs  to  succeed  to  an  inheritance, 
escheat  to  the  king;  and  all  new  discovered  lands  vest  in 
him:  yet  in  neither  case  can  he  exempt  them  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  legislature  of  the  kingdom. 

He  may  grant  them,  under  leases  or  charters,  to  individ 
uals  or  companies;  with  liberty  of  making  rules  and  regula 
tions  for  the  internal  government  and  improvement  of  them ; 
but  such  regulations  must  ever  be  consistent  with  the  laws 
of  the  kingdom,  and  subject  to  their  controul. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  am  extremely  dubious,  whether  it 
be  consistent  with  the  general  principles  of  liberty  (with 
those  of  the  British  constitution,  I  think,  it  is  not),  to  tax 
where  there  is  no  representation :  the  arguments  hitherto 
adduced  from  Manchester  and  Birmingham,  and  other 
great  towns,  not  having  representatives,  are  foreign  to  the 
subject;  at  least  they  are  by  no  means  equal  to  it;  —  for 
every  inhabitant,  possessed  of  forty  shillings  freehold,  has  a 
vote  in  the  election  of  members  for  the  county:  but  it  is  not 
the  persons,  but  the  property  of  men  that  is  taxed,  and  there 
is  not  a  foot  of  property  in  this  kingdom,  that  is  not  repre 
sented. 

It  appears  then,  that  certain  principles  exist  in  the  British 
constitution,  which  militate  with  each  other;  the  reason  of 
their  doing  so  is  evident ;  it  was  never  supposed  that  they 
would  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  Great  Britain,  or  affect 
so  distant  a  country  as  America.  It  is  much  to  be  wished, 
therefore,  that  some  expedient  could  be  thought  of,  to  recon 
cile  them. 

The  conduct  of  the  several  administrations,  that  have 
had  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  this  kingdom,  has  been 
reciprocally  arraigned ;  but,  I  think,  without  reason ;  for, 
all  things  considered,  an  impartial  and  dispassionate  mind 


128     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

will  find  many  excuses  to  allege  in  justification  of  each. — 
The  fewest,  I  am  afraid,  are  to  be  pleaded  in  favour  of  the 
Americans,  for  they  settled  in  America  under  charters, 
which  expressly  reserved  to  the  British  Parliament  the  au 
thority,  whether  consistent  or  not  consistent,  now  asserted. 
Although,  therefore,  they  had  a  right  to  make  humble 
representations  to  his  majesty  in  parliament,  and  to  shew 
the  impropriety  and  inconvenience  to  in  forcing  such  princi 
ples,  yet  they  had  certainly  no  right  to  oppose  them. 

Expedients  may  still  be  found,  it  is  to  be  hoped  however, 
to  conciliate  the  present  unhappy  differences,  and  restore 
harmony  again  between  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies ;  but 
whatever  measures  may  be  adopted  by  parliament,  I  am 
sure  it  is  the  duty  of  America  to  submit. 


THE  PROLOGUE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 
BY  JUSTIN  H.  SMITH 

THE    FORTUNE    OF    WAR 

Pacing  to  and  fro  among  the  drifts  on  the  Heights  of 
Abraham,  New  Year's  day  of  1776,  an  American  sentry, 
shriveled  up  with  cold  and  buffeted  by  a  gale  from  the 
east,  beheld,  when  the  driving  snow  permitted,  a  vast  ex 
panse  of  rough,  enshrouded  country,  spattered  with  leafless 
trees,  whistling  in  the  blast,  or  funereal  evergreens  bowing 
before  it,  scarred  with  gray  cliffs  and  a  few  brown  vil 
lages,  and  cut  through  by  the  hoary  tide  of  the  St.  Law 
rence,  where  heaving  blocks  of  ice  froze  and  broke,  rose 
and  fell,  ebbed  and  flowed,  crushed,  ground,  and  groaned 
in  the  aimless  melancholy  of  an  arctic  winter;  while,  if 
he  turned  his  eye  to  the  south,  his  vision  had  to  travel 
across  the  drifts  180  miles  to  Montreal,  150  more  to  Ti- 
conderoga,  then  100  to  Albany,  150  more  to  New  York, 
and  100  to  Philadelphia,  where  sate  the  Conscript  Fathers 
in  their  perplexities  under  the  waiting  bell  of  Independence 
Hall.  All  these  miles  of  snow  must  be  tediously  paced 
off  before  the  needs  of  the  struggling  soldiers  could  be 
told,  and  again  paced  off  to  bring  back  word  that  they 
were  not  forgotten.  For  weeks  past  communication  with 
the  colonies  had  virtually  been  cut  off,  and  for  weeks 

Copyright   1903  by  Justin  H.   Smith. 
9  129 


130    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


N.Y. 


N 


to  come  the  route 
would  be  almost 
impassable. 


WAR 


EXTRAORDI 
NARY 


Map  of  the  Quebec  and  Montreal  region. 


Undiscouraged, 
the  Americans 
kept  on  "  fagging 
it  out "  before 
Quebec.  But  what 
could  they  expect  ? 
Here  stood  -  a 
powerful  fortress 
with  a  garrison  of 
eighteen  hundred 
men,  well  drilled 
by  this  time,  and 
a  little  troop  of  sick  people  pretended  they  were  going  to 
take  it.  Not  counting  the  diseased  and  the  men  whose 
terms  of  service  had  expired,  May-day  saw  only  seven 
hundred  effectives  outside  the  town,  and  these  were  spread 
over  a  circuit  of  twenty-six  miles,  broken  three  times  by 
the  rivers.  Two  hundred  of  them  had  been  inoculated, 
and  soon  would  be  down  with  the  smallpox.  Not  more 
than  three  hundred  could  be  rallied  promptly  to  meet  an 
attack.  The  batteries  pointed  about  fifteen  guns  at  Que 
bec,  and  Quebec  pointed  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  at 
the  batteries,  some  of  them  42 -pounders.  The  magazine 
contained  only  a  hundred-weight  and  a  half  of  powder. 
Even  at  headquarters,  neither  intrenchments  nor  intrench- 


The  Prologue  of  the  Revolution       131 

ing-tools  could  be  found;  and  the  provisions  would  not 
last  a  week.  War  this  could  hardly  be  called.  Yet  it  was 
far  indeed  from  opera  bouffe.  Everybody  wished  Lord 
North  to  understand  that  Americans  were  no  poltroons, 
and  the  thought  of  retreat  was  not  agreeable.  As  for 
Carleton,  he  could  not  count  the  "  rebels "  outside  the 
gates,  nor  even  those  within,  and  he  preferred  to  take  no 
chances. 

Nobody  in  the  colonies  even  suspected  how  badly  things 
were  going.  Chase  and  Carroll  wrote  Congress  in  truth 
ful  black :  "  We  cannot  find  words  strong  enough  to  ex 
press  our  miserable  situation;  you  will  have  a  faint  idea  of 
it  if  you  figure  to  yourselves  an  army  broken  and  disheart 
ened,  half  of  it  under  inoculation  or  other  disease;  soldiers 
without  pay,  without  discipline,  and  altogether  reduced  to 
live  from  hand  to  mouth,  depending  on  the  scanty  and 


Quebec  from  the  south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 


132    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

precarious  supplies  of  a  few  half-starved  cattle  and  trifling 
quantities  of  flour,  which  have  hitherto  been  picked  up  in 
different  parts  of  the  country." 

EVERYTHING  AGAINST    NOTHING 

If  the  outlook  was  dark  before,  what  should  it  be  called 
now?  Beaten,  broken,  penniless,  underfed,  poorly  trained, 
poorly  armed,  honeycombed  with  a  dreadful  epidemic  and 
the  fear  of  it  and  in  large  part  half  naked,  the  American 
army  can  only  be  described  in  the  words  of  Sullivan  him 
self:  "No  one  thing  is  right."  Out  of  eight  thousand 
men  Arnold  reckoned  on  June  6  that  less  than  five  thousand 
could  be  mustered,  while  a  little  later  the  effectives  were 
estimated  at  a  third  of  the  total.  "  Those  who  were  most 
healthy  went  about  like  so  many  walking  apparitions," 
wrote  an  officer,  and,  besides  working  and  fighting,  had  to 
care  for  the  sick  among  them.  Worst  of  all,  perhaps,  the 
troops  were  ignorant  of  the  straits  of  Congress,  and  felt 
themselves  "  wholly  neglected,"  as  Thomas  had  written. 
Yet  the  "  little  tincture  of  vanity  "  that  Washington  dis 
covered  among  Sullivan's  admirable  traits  made  him 
imagine  vain  things,  and  he  vowed  he  would  not  retreat  so 
long  as  a  single  person  would  stick  by  him.  Duty  rein 
forced  vanity :  had  not  Congress  ordered  him  to  "  contest 
every  foot  of  the  ground  "  ? 

On  the  British  side,  though  Sullivan  scouted  the  reports 
of  their  numbers,  ten  thousand  regulars  were  now  moving 
on  with  Carleton,  the  British  troops  gay  \vith  scarlet,  and 
the  Germans  actually  shining  in  their  blue  regimentals  with 
red  facings,  their  broad  lace  and  their  silver  frogs;  and  all 
these  troops  were  fresh,  rosy,  and  eager  for  a  fight.  Cana 
dian  militia  gathered  about  them,  and  the  Indians  were  com- 


The  Prologue  of  the  Revolution       133 


The  northwest  part  of  Quebec. 

ing  in.  Vessels  laden  with  choice  provisions,  a  line  train  of 
artillery,  and  a  plenty  of  war-ships  rounded  out  the  force. 
It  was  health  against  sickness,  confidence  against  defeat, 
plenty  against  want,  gold  against  paper,  four  against  one; 
and  Sullivan's  bravery  could  only  dash  itself  and  the  army 
to  pieces. 

AMERICA  AT  STAKE 

But  the  destruction  of  an  army  hardly  spelled  one  sylla 
ble  of  the  danger.  Let  Carleton  only  reach  Longueuil 
while  Sullivan  awaited  him  at  Sorel:  to  Chambly  would 
then  be  only  a  dozen  miles,  a  morning  stroll,  while  Sorel 
was  nearly  fifty  miles  away ;  and  Sullivan  would  be  ruined 
completely.  A  dozen  miles  more  to  St.  John's,  and  Arnold 
also  would  be  cut  off.  Then,  leaving  the  Canadians  to 
guard  his  prisoners,  Carleton  could  seize  the  American 


134     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

bateaux,  embark  his  men,  sail  to  Ticonderoga,  march  to 
Albany,  march  down  the  Hudson,  cooperate  with  Howe's 
powerful  army,  as  the  British  government  expected, 
stamp  out  Washington,  and  scatter  the  Conscript 
Fathers.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  would  not 
appear  and  the  only  question  would  be,  how  many 
insurgents  to  hang?  "We  can  hear  the  enemy  now 
firing;  this  will  be  a  hot  week,"  wrote  an  officer  from  Sorel 
on  June  13.  More  than  a  hundred  British  vessels  were 
just  below,  yet  Sullivan  only  planted  himself  the  more 
firmly  on  the  sandy  point  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu. 

This  was  the  very  crisis.  The  whole  future  of  America 
depended  now  —  depended  on  a  puff  of  air. 

A    WONDERFUL    RETREAT 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  i5th,  Captain 
James  Wilkinson  was  going  down  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
a  message  from  Arnold  to  Sullivan,  and  about  fourteen 
miles  below  Montreal  two  cannon-shots  were  heard.  Land 
ing  to  investigate,  he  found  British  troops  there,  and  the 
river  beyond  looked  snowy  with  British  sails.  It  was  Carle- 
ton.  Why  had  he  stopped  short?  The  wind  had  failed 
him. 

That  was  a  wind  of  destiny,  indeed,  and  it  gave  the 
patriot  cause  a  chance  of  life.  Mounting  the  first  horse  he 
could  lay  hands  on,  Wilkinson  dashed  bareback  to  Lon- 
gueuil,  forced  a  Canadian  at  the  point  of  his  sword  to  help 
him  across  the  river,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  Arnold.  But 
how  could  the  Montreal  garrison  escape  with  its  baggage 
across  Carleton's  advancing  front?  The  British  must  be 
delayed;  they  must  be  fought;  Sullivan  must  send  a  force 
to  do  it;  and  Wilkinson  rode  off  in  the  darkness  to  carry 


The  Prologue  of  the  Revolution       135 

this  message.  How  absurd !  Sullivan  had  only  the  debris 
of  an  army,  sleeping  in  exhaustion  where  they  could,  amid 
oceans  of  mud  and  torrents  of  rain,  with  nobody  awake  but 
the  chief  officers,  and  not  even  a  sentry  posted  to  protect 
them.  Demoralization  seemed  complete;  the  army  was  no 
more.  Yet  in  less  than  an  hour,  when  morning  dawned, 
Wayne  gathered  a  corps  of  cheerful,  willing  troops,  and 
marched  of!  to  fight  the  governor's  legions.  Army  or  not, 
there  were  men  still.  Happily  they  did  not  have  to  be 
sacrificed.  Arnold  had  already  crossed  the  river,  and  soon 
was  pressing  forward  to  St.  John's  in  safety. 

Sullivan,  for  his  part,  managed  to  gather  his  forces  at 
Chambly;  but  there,  with  two  armies  in  pursuit  of  him,  he 
found  a  third  enemy  squarely  in  front.  Roaring  and  foam 
ing,  the  Chambly  rapids  fall  a  vertical  distance  of  seventy- 
five  feet,  and  up  that  height  all  his  boats  must  climb.  But 
the  general  was  in  earnest.  Working  day  and  night,  he 
passed  the  rapids,  burned  the  fort  at  Chambly,  and  hurried 
on  to  join  Arnold,  tearing  up  the  bridges  as  he  went.  Bur- 
goyrie  followed.  Toward  evening  on  June  18,  the  British 
drew  near  St.  John's,  and  their  van  was  ordered  forward 
on  the  run.  Two  horsemen,  some  distance  ahead,  watched 
the  column  approach.  At  last  they  turned  and  galloped 
back  to  the  fort.  Every  American,  sick  or  well,  had  em 
barked  and  left  the  place.  Every  musket,  every  flint,  every 
cannon  except  three  poor  ones  abandoned  at  Chambly,  had 
gone,  and  Fort  St.  John  was  in  flames.  The  horsemen 
dismounted,  shot  their  steeds,  and  tossed  the  harness  into 
a  waiting  boat.  One  of  them,  Wilkinson,  stepped  in,  and 
the  other, — it  was  Arnold, — pushing  the  boat  off,  sprang 
after  him.  Before  they  were  out  of  musket-range  the 
British  came  up.  The  invasion  of  Canada  had  ended. 


136     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Carleton  was  eager  to  pursue  the  fugitives,  but  only  a 
few  of  the  boats  that  he  requested  to  be  sent  from  England 
had  come,  and  he  found  it  impossible  to  build  a  fleet  quickly. 
The  Americans,  under  Arnold's  lead,  strained  every  nerve 
to  place  armed  vessels  on  the  lake,  and  almost  half  of 

October  had  gone  before  the 
governor  defeated  them.  It 
\vas  then  too  late  in  the 
season  for  a  new  campaign, 
and  he  soon  retired  to  win 
ter  quarters. 


What  shall  be  our  verdict 
on  these  events?  The  inva 
sion  of  Canada  seemed  un 
avoidable;  it  was  boldly 
and  shrewdly  planned  and 
bravely  executed ;  it  missed 
its  aim  only  by  the  narrow 
est  of  chances.  But  the 
sole  possible  success  was 
To  have  won  that 


General  Anthony  Wayne. 

to  fail,  and  therefore  it  succeeded, 
country  would  have  required  us  to  defend  it;  and  any 
serious  endeavor  to  hold  Canada  against  Great  Britain 
would  have  divided  the  resources  of  the  colonies,  exhausted 
their  strength,  and  led  to  their  ruin.  Yet  a  determined 
fight  was  necessary,  and  all  the  benefits  of  that  we  gained. 
It  rendered  a  British  invasion  from  the  north  impossible 
in  1775  and  1776;  the  power  of  England,  instead  of  Amer 
ica,  was  divided;  Carleton's  ill  success  cost  him  for  a  time 
the  king's  favor;  the  invasion  of  1777  was  intrusted  to  a  far 


The  Prologue  of  the  Revolution       137 

less  dangerous  man ;  Bennington  and  Saratoga  allied  us  with 
France;  and  French  aid  insured  our  independence. 

These  campaigns  were  also  a  dress-rehearsal  for  the  war. 
People  realized  what  war  meant,  and  Washington  discov 
ered  where  to  look  for  lieutenants.  In  Montgomery  the 
patriot  cause  found  not  only  a  worthy  martyr,  but  one  able 
to  fire  the  imaginations  and  the  hearts  of  men.  In  the  cap 
ture  of  regulars  and  fortresses,  the  battle  with  nature,  the 
struggle  for  Quebec,  _  _ _ 

and  the  stubborn  re 
treat,  America  saw 
that  patriots  could  im 
provise  victories,  live 
without  food,  battle 
without  weapons,  and 
die  without  regret. 

On  the  one  hand,  this 

11       i-i       i  On  the  St.  Lawrence, 

enterprise    helped    lead 

the  country  from  the  tone  of  petition  to  the  tone  of  inde 
pendence  ;  on  the  other,  our  Declaration  looks  grander  than 
ever,  when  we  realize  that  a  poor,  defeated,  humiliated 
people  flung  it  into  the  face  of  triumphant  power;  and 
while  the  inevitable  imperfections  of  humanity  showed 
themselves  in  these  campaigns,  yet  the  lofty  patriotism,  the 
keen  intelligence,  the  bold  initiative,  the  dauntless  courage, 
and  the  sublime  fortitude  exhibited  there,  make  them  not 
only  the  prologue  of  our  Revolution,  but  the  prologue  of 
our  national  career. 


WASHINGTON 
BY  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE 

The  brilliant  historian  of  the  English  people1  has  writ 
ten  of  Washington,  that  "  no  nobler  figure 'ever  stood  in 
the  fore- front  of  a  nation's  life."  In  any  book  which  un 
dertakes  to  tell,  no  matter  how  slightly,  the  story  of  some 
of  the  heroic  deeds  of  American  history,  that  noble  figure 
must  always  stand  in  the  fore- front.  But  to  sketch  the 
life  of  Washington  even  in  the  barest  outline  is  to  write 
the  history  of  the  events  which  made  the  United  States  in 
dependent  and  gave  birth  to  the  American  nation.  Even  to 
give  a  list  of  what  he  did,  to  name  his  battles  and  recount 
his  acts  as  president,  would  be  beyond  the  limit  and  the 
scope  of  this  book.  Yet  it  is  always  possible  to  recall  the 
man  and  to  consider  what  he  was  and  what  he  meant  for 
us  and  for  mankind.  He  is  worthy  the  study  and  the 
remembrance  of  all  men,  and  to  Americans  he  is  at  once 
a  great  glory  of  their  past  and  an  inspiration  and  an  as 
surance  of  their  future. 

To  understand  Washington  at  all  we  must  first  strip  off 
all  the  myths  which  have  gathered  about  him.  We  must 
cast  aside  into  the  dust-heaps  all  the  wretched  inventions 
of  the  cherry-tree  variety,  which  \vere  fastened  upon  him 
nearly  seventy  years  after  his  birth.  We  must  look  at  him 
as  he  looked  at  life  and  the  facts  about  him,  without  any 

1  John  Richard  Green. 

138 


Washington  139 

illusion  or  deception,   and   no  man   in   history  can  better 
stand  such  a  scrutiny. 

Born  of  a  distinguished  family  in  the  days  when  the 
American  colonies  were  still  ruled  by  an  aristocracy,  Wash 
ington  started  with  all  that  good  birth  and  tradition  could 
give.  Beyond  this,  however,  he  had  little.  His  family 
was  poor,  his  mother  was  left  early  a  widow,  and  he  was 
forced  after  a  very  limited  education  to  go  out  into  the 
world  to  fight  for  himself.  He  had  strong  within  him  the 
adventurous  spirit  of  his  race.  He  became  a  surveyor,  and 
in  the  pursuit  of  this  profession  plunged  into  the  wilder 
ness,  where  he  soon  grew  to  be  an  expert  hunter  and  back 
woodsman.  Even  as  a  boy  the  gravity  of  his  character  and 
his  mental  and  physical  vigor  commended  him  to  those  about 
him,  and  responsibility  and  military  command  were  put  in 
his  hands  at  an  age  when  most  young  men  are  just  leaving 
college.  As  the  times  grew  threatening  on  the  frontier,  he 
was  sent  on  a  perilous  mission  to  the  Indians,  in  which, 
after  passing  through  many  hardships  and  dangers,  he 
achieved  success.  When  the  troubles  came  with  France  it 
was  by  the  soldiers  under  his  command  that  the  first  shots 
were  fired  in  the  war  which  was  to  determine  whether  the 
North  American  continent  should  be  French  or  English. 
In  his  earliest  expedition  he  was  defeated  by  the  enemy. 
Later  he  was  with  Braddock,  and  it  was  he  who  tried  to 
rally  the  broken  English  army  on  the  stricken  field  near 
Fort  Duquesne.  On  that  day  of  surprise  and  slaughter 
he  displayed  riot  only  cool  courage  but  the  reckless  daring 
which  was  one  of  his  chief  characteristics.  He  so  exposed 
himself  that  bullets  passed  through  his  coat  and  hat,  and 
the  Indians  and  the  French  who  tried  to  bring  him  down 
thought  he  bore  a  charmed  life.  He  afterwards  served  with 


140    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

distinction  all  through  the  French  war,  and  when  peace 
came  he  went  back  to  the  estate  which  he  had  inherited 
from  his  brother,  the  most  admired  man  in  Virginia. 

At  that  time  he  married,  and  during  the  ensuing  year  he 
lived  the  life  of  a  Virginia  planter,  successful  in  his  pri 
vate  affairs  and  serving  the  public  effectively  but  quietly 
as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  When  the 
troubles  with  the  mother-country  began  to  thicken  he  was 
slow  to  take  extreme  ground,  but  he  never  wavered  in  his 
belief  that  all  attempts  to  oppress  the  colonies  should  be 
resisted,  and  when  he  once  took  up  his  position  there  was 
no  shadow  of  turning.  He  was  one  of  Virginia's  dele 
gates  to  the  first  Continental  Congress,  and,  although  he 
said  but  little,  he  was  regarded  by  all  the  representatives 
from  the  other  colonies  as  the  strongest  man  among  them. 
There  was  something  about  him  even  then  which  com 
manded  the  respect  and  the  confidence  of  every  one  who 
came  in  contact  with  him. 

It  was  from  New  England,  far  removed  from  his  own 
State,  that  the  demand  came  for  his  appointment  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  American  army.  Silently  he  ac 
cepted  the  duty,  and,  leaving  Philadelphia,  took  command 
of  the  army  at  Cambridge.  There  is  no  need  to  trace  him 
through  the  events  that  followed.  From  the  time  when  he 
drew  his  sword  under  the  famous  elm  tree,  he  was  the  em 
bodiment  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  without  him 
that  revolution  would  have  failed  almost  at  the  start.  How 
he  carried  it  to  victory  through  defeat  and  trial  and  every 
possible  obstacle  is  known  to  all  men. 

When  it  was  all  over  he  found  himself  facing  a  new 
situation.  He  was  the  idol  of  the  country  and  of  his 
soldiers.  The  army  was  unpaid,  and  the  veteran  troops, 


George  Washington. 


142     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

with  arms  in  their  hands,  were  eager  to  have  him  take 
control  of  the  disordered  country  as  Cromwell  had  done  in 
England  a  little  more  than  a  century  before.  With  the 
army  at  his  back,  and  supported  by  the  great  forces  which, 
in  every  community,  desire  order  before  everything  else, 
and  are  ready  to  assent  to  any  arrangement  which  will 
bring  peace  and  quiet,  nothing  would  have  been  easier  than 
for  Washington  to  have  made  himself  the  ruler  of  the 
new  nation.  But  that  was  not  his  conception  of  duty,  and 
he  not  only  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  a 
movement  himself,  but  he  repressed,  by  his  dominant  per 
sonal  influence,  all  such  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  army. 
On  the  23d  of  December,  1783,  he  met  the  Congress  at 
Annapolis,  and  there  resigned  his  commission.  What  he 
then  said  is  one  of  the  two  most  memorable  speeches  ever 
made  in  the  United  States,  and  is  also  memorable  for  its 
meaning  and  spirit  among  all  speeches  ever  made  by  men. 
He  spoke  as  follows : 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  —  The  great  events  on  which  my  resignation 
depended  having  at  length  taken  place,  I  have  now  the  honor  of 
offering  my  sincere  congratulations  to  Congress,  and  of  presenting 
myself  before  them,  to  surrender  into  their  hands  the  trust  com 
mitted  to  me  and  to  claim  the  indulgence  of  retiring  from  the 
service  of  my  country. 

Happy  in  the  confirmation  of  our  independence  and  sovereignty, 
and  pleased  with  the  opportunity  afforded  the  United  States  of 
becoming  a  respectable  nation,  I  resign  with  satisfaction  the  ap 
pointment  I  accepted  with  diffidence ;  a  diffidence  in  my  abilities  to 
accomplish  so  arduous  a  task,  which,  however,  was  superseded  by 
a  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  our  cause,  the  support  of  the  su 
preme  power  of  the  Union,  and  the  patronage  of  Heaven. 

The  successful  termination  of  the  war  has  verified  the  most 
sanguine  expectations,  and  my  gratitude  for  the  interposition  of 


Washington  143 

Providence  and  the  assistance  I  have  received  from  my  country 
men  increases  with  every  review  of  the  momentous  contest. 

While  I  repeat  my  obligations  to  the  Army  in  general,  I  should 
do  injustice  to  my  own  feelings  not  to  acknowledge,  in  this  place, 
the  peculiar  services  and  distinguished  merits  of  the  Gentlemen 
who  have  been  attached  to  my  person  during  the  war.  It  was 
impossible  that  the  choice  of  confidential  officers  to  compose  my 
family  should  have  been  more  fortunate.  Permit  me,  sir,  to  rec 
ommend  in  particular  those  who  have  continued  in  service  to  the 
present  moment  as  worthy  of  the  favorable  notice  and  patronage 
of  Congress. 

I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this  last  solemn  act 
of  my  official  life  by  commending  the  interests  of  our  dearest 
country  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  those  who  have 
the  superintendence  of  them  to  His  holy  keeping. 

Having  now  finished  the  work  assigned  me,  I  retire  from  the 
great  theater  of  action,  and,  bidding  an  affectionate  farewell  to 
this  august  body,  under  whose  orders  I  have  so  long  acted,  I 
here  offer  my  commission  and  take  my  leave  of  all  the  employ 
ments  of  public  life. 

The  great  master  of  English  fiction,  writing  of  this 
scene  at  Annapolis,  says :  "  Which  was  the  most  splendid 
spectacle  ever  witnessed  —  the  opening  feast  of  Prince 
George  in  London,  or  the  resignation  of  Washington? 
W'hich  is  the  noble  character  for  after  ages  to  admire  — 
yon  fribble  dancing  in  lace  and  spangles,  or  yonder  hero 
who  sheathes  his  sword  after  a  life  of  spotless  honor,  a 
purity  unreproached,  a  courage  indomitable  and  a  consum 
mate  victory  ?  " 

Washington  did  not  refuse  the  dictatorship,  or,  rather, 
the  opportunity  to  take  control  of  the  country,  because  he 
feared  heavy  responsibility,  but  solely  because,  as  a  high- 
minded  and  patriotic  man,  he  did  not  believe  in  meeting 
the  situation  in  that  way.  He  was,  moreover,  entirely 


144     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

devoid  of  personal  ambition,  and  had  no  vulgar  longing 
for  personal  power.  After  resigning  his  commission  he 
returned  quietly  to  Mount  Vernon,  but  he  did  not  hold 
himself  aloof  from  public  affairs.  On  the  contrary,  he 
watched  their  course  with  the  utmost  anxiety.  He  saw 
the  feeble  Confederation  breaking  to  pieces,  and  he  soon 
realized  that  that  form  of  government  was  an  utter  failure. 
In  a  time  when  no  American  statesman  except  Hamilton 

had  yet  freed  himself 
from  the  local  feelings  of 
the  colonial  days,  Wash 
ington  was  thoroughly 
national  in  all  his  views. 
Out  of  the  thirteen  jar 
ring  colonies  he  meant 
that  a  nation  should 

Washington's  chest.  CQme>       and       he       gaw  _ 

what  no  one  else  saw  —  the  destiny  of  the  country  to  the 
westward.  He  wished  a  nation  founded  which  should 
cross  the  Alleghanies,  and,  holding  the  mouths  of  the 
Mississippi,  take  possession  of  all  that  vast  and  then  un 
known  region.  For  these  reasons  he  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  national  movement,  and  to  him  all  men  turned  who 
desired  a  better  union  and  sought  to  bring  order  out  of 
chaos.  With  him  Hamilton  and  Madison  consulted  in  the 
preliminary  stages  which  were  to  lead  to  the  formation  of 
a  new  system.  It  was  his  vast  personal  influence  which 
made  that  movement  a  success,  and  when  the  convention 
to  form  a  constitution  met  at  Philadelphia,  he  presided 
over  its  deliberations,  and  it  was  his  commanding  will 
which,  more  than  anything  else,  brought  a  constitution 


Washington  145 

through  difficulties  and  conflicting  interests  which  more 
than  once  made  any  result  seem  well-nigh  hopeless. 

When  the  Constitution  formed  at  Philadelphia  had  been 
ratified  by  the  States,  all  men  turned  to  Washington  to 
stand  at  the  head  of  the  new  government.  As  he  had 
borne  the  burden  of  the  Revolution,  so  he  now  took  up  the 
task  of  bringing  the  government  of  the  Constitution  into 
existence.  For  eight  years  he  served  as  president.  He 
came  into  office  with  a  paper  constitution,  the  heir  of  a 
bankrupt,  broken-down  confederation.  He  left  the  United 
States,  when  he  went  out  of  office,  an  effective  and  vigorous 
government.  When  he  was  inaugurated,  we  had  nothing 
but  the  clauses  of  the  Constitution  as  agreed  to  by  the  Con 
vention.  When  he  laid  down  the  presidency,  we  had  an 
organized  government,  an  established  revenue,  a  funded 
debt,  a  high  credit,  an  efficient  system  of  banking,  a  strong 
judiciary,  and  an  army.  We  had  a  vigorous  and  well- 
defined  foreign  policy;  we  had  recovered  the  western  posts, 
which,  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  had  fettered  our  march 
to  the  west;  and  we  had  proved  our  power  to  maintain 
order  at  home,  to  repress  insurrection,  to  collect  the  na 
tional  taxes,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  made  by  Congress. 
Thus  Washington  had  shown  that  rare  combination  of  the 
leader  who  could  first  destroy  by  revolution,  and  who,  hav 
ing  led  his  country  through  a  great  civil  -war,  was  then 
able  to  build  up  a  new  and  lasting  fabric  upon  the  ruins  of 
a  system  which  had  been  overthrown.  At  the  close  of  his 
official  service  he  returned  again  to  Mount  Vernon,  and, 
after  a  few  years  of  quiet  retirement,  died  just  as  the  cen 
tury  in  which  he  had  played  so  great  a  part  was  closing. 

Washington  stands  among  the  greatest  men  of  human 


146    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

history,  and  those  in  the  same  rank  with  him  are  very  few. 
Whether  measured  hy  what  he  did,  or  what  he  was,  or  by 
the  effect  of  his  work  upon  the  history  of  mankind,  in 
every  aspect  he  is  entitled  to  the  place  he  holds  among  the 
greatest  of  his  race.  Few  men  in  all  time  have  such  a 
record  of  achievement.  Still  fewer  can  show  at  the  end  of 
a  career  so  crowded  with  high  deeds  and  memorable  vic 
tories  a  life  so  free  from  spot,  a  character  so  unselfish  and 
so  pure,  a  fame  so  void  of  doubtful  points  demanding  either 
defense  or  explanation.  Eulogy  of  such  a  life  is  needless, 
but  it  is  always  important  to  recall  and  to  freshly  remember 
just  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  In  the  first  place  he 
was  physically  a  striking  figure.  He  was  very  tall,  power 
fully  made,  with  a  strong,  handsome  face.  He  was  remark 
ably  muscular  and  powerful.  As  a  boy  he  was  a  leader 
in  all  outdoor  sports.  No  one  could  fling  the  bar  further 
than  he,  and  no  one  could  ride  more  difficult  horses.  As  a 
young  man  he  became  a  woodsman  and  hunter.  Day  after 
day  he  could  tramp  through  the  wilderness  with  his  gun 
and  his  surveyor's  chain,  and  then  sleep  at  night  beneath  the 
stars.  He  feared  no  exposure  or  fatigue,  and  outdid  the 
hardiest  backwoodsman  in  following  a  winter  trail  and 
swimming  icy  streams.  This  habit  of  vigorous  bodily 
exercise  he  carried  through  life.  Whenever  he  was  at 
Mount  Vernon  he  gave  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  fox 
hunting,  riding  after  his  hounds  through  the  most  difficult 
country.  His  physical  power  and  endurance  counted  for 
much  in  his  success  when  he  commanded  his  army,  and 
when  the  heavy  anxieties  of  general  and  president  weighed 
upon  his  mind  and  heart. 

He  was  an  educated,  but  not  a  learned  man.     He  read 


Washington 


147 


well  and  remembered  what  he  read,  but  his  life  was,  from 

the  beginning,  a  life  of  action,  and  the  world  of  men  was 

his  school.     He  was  not  a  military  genius  like  Hannibal, 

or  Caesar,  or  Napoleon,  of  which  the  world 

has  had  only  three  or   four  examples.     But 

he  was  a  great  soldier  of  the  type  which  the 

English  race  has  produced,  like  Marlborough 

and  Cromwell,  Wellington,  Grant,  and  Lee. 

He  was  patient  under  defeat,  capable  of  large 

combinations,  a  stubborn  and  often  reckless 

fighter,  a  winner  of  battles,  but  much  more, 

a  conclusive  winner  in  a  long  war  of  varying 

fortunes.     He   was,   in  addition,   what   very 

few  great  soldiers  or  commanders  have  ever 

been,   a  great  constitutional   statesman,   able 

to    lead   a   people   along   the    paths    of    free 

government  without  undertaking  himself  to 

play  the  part  of  the  strong  man,  the  usurper, 

or  the  saviour  of  society. 

He  was  a  very  silent  man.     Of  no  man  of 
equal  importance  in  the  world's  history  have 
we  so  few  sayings  of  a  personal  kind.     He 
was  ready  enough  to  talk  or  to  write  about 
the  public  duties  which  he  had  in  hand,  but 
he  hardly  ever  talked  of  himself.     Yet  there 
can    be   no    greater    error    than    to    suppose 
Washington  cold  and  unfeeling,  because  of    Washington's 
his  silence  and  reserve.     He  was  by  nature 
a  man  of  strong  desires  and  stormy  passions.     Now  and 
again  he  would  break  out,  even  as  late  as  the  presidency, 
into  a  gust  of  anger  that  would  sweep  everything  before  it. 


148     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

He  was  always  reckless  of  personal  danger,  and  had  a 
fierce  fighting  spirit  which  nothing  could  check  when  it  was 
once  unchained. 

'But  as  a  rule  these  fiery  impulses  and  strong  passions 
were  under  the  absolute  control  of  an  iron  will,  and  they 
never  clouded  his  judgment  or  warped  his  keen  sense  of  jus 
tice. 

But  if  he  was  not  of  a  cold  nature,  still  less  was  he  hard 
or  unfeeling.  His  pity  always  went  out  to  the  poor,  the 
oppressed,  or  the  unhappy,  and  he  was  all  that  was  kind 
and  gentle  to  those  immediately  about  him. 

We  have  to  look  carefully  into  his  life  to  learn  all  these 
things,  for  the  world  saw  only  a  silent,  reserved  man,  of 
courteous  and  serious  manner,  who  seemed  to  stand  alone 
and  apart,  and  who  impressed  every  one  who  came  near 
him  with  a  sense  of  awe  and  reverence. 

One  quality  he  had  which  was,  perhaps,  more  charac 
teristic  of  the  man  and  his  greatness  than  any  other.  This 
was  his  perfect  veracity  of  mind.  He  was,  of  course,  the 
soul  of  truth  and  honor,  but  he  was  even  more  than  that. 
He  never  deceived  himself.  He  always  looked  facts 
squarely  in  the  face  and  dealt  with  them  as  such,  dreaming 
no  dreams,  cherishing  no  delusions,  asking  no  impossibili 
ties, —  just  to  others  as  to  himself,  and  thus  winning  alike 
in  war  and  in  peace. 

He  gave  dignity  as  well  as  victory  to  his  country  and 
his  cause.  He  was,  in  truth,  a  "  character  for  after  ages 
to  admire." 


WASHINGTON  AS  AN  ATHLETE 
BY  MRS.  BURTON  HARRISON 

No  boy  can  imagine  a  better  place  in  which  to  grow  up 
than  Virginia  in  the  clays  of  Washington's  boyhood.  The 
house  of  every  planter  in  the  "  tide-water  "  region,  where 
families  first  formed  into  what  they  called  neighborhoods, 
was  built  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  estate.  To  go  abroad  meant 
to  tramp  or  ride  for  hours  on  one's  own  land,  in  glorious 
forests  where  the  wigwam's  smoke  had  scarcely  ceased  to 
curl.  Deer  looked  with  mild-eyed  wonder  at  the  passers- 
by.  Small  game  of  infinite  variety  was  to  be  had  by  rais 
ing  a  rifle  to  the  shoulder.  Grapes  and  nuts  grew  upon 
low-swung  branches,  and  springs  of  delicious  water  bubbled 
under  foot.  In  the  clearings  the  rich  soil  laughed  when 
they  tickled  it,  yielding  corn  and  tobacco,  vegetables  and 
flowers. 

As  early  as  1623,  there  was  a  famous  plantation  upon 
the  lower  James,  called  Littleton,  where  peach  trees  bore 
luscious  fruit,  and  in  the  garden  of  two  acres  belonging  to 
the  house  grew  "  primroses,  sage,  marjoram,  and  rose 
mary,"  to  remind  its  owner  of  the  Old  Country;  while  his 
orchards  were  filled  with  "  apple,  cherry,  pear,  and  plum 
trees."  Most  of  the  plantations  bordered  upon  majestic 
rivers,  whose  shallows  supplied  oysters,  terrapins,  crabs,  and 
ducks,  in  countless  numbers.  The  waters  of  such  streams, 
warmed  by  the  southern  sun,  making  bathing  and  swim 
ming  a  luxury,  were  alive  with  fish,  both  great  and  small. 

149 


150     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Whatever  those  old  Virginians  lacked,  it  was  not  good 
things  to  eat,  while  Nature  thus  emptied  her  horn  of  plenty 
at  their  doors! 

Life  under  such  conditions,  with  a  horde  of  lazy,  well- 
fed  colored  people  to  do  the  farm-work,  guests  on  horse 
back  coming,  going,  staying  as  long  as  it  pleased  them  to 
rest  their  horses,  was  a  very  easy  one.  The  occupations  of 
the  men  were  almost  entirely  out-of-doors.  Hunting,  fox- 
chasing,  angling,  trapping,  breaking  colts,  and  riding  around 
their  big  estates,  filled  up  their  days.  Until  of  an  age  to 
be  put  aboard  some  slow-sailing  tobacco  ship,  and  started  in 
the  captain's  care  to  some  relative  or  friend  in  England, 
who  would  superintend  their  schooling,  the  sons  of  the 
colonists  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  their  sires. 

In  this  way  was  nursed  the  generation  that  produced  the 
band  of  Virginian  patriots  of  which  Washington  was  chief. 
Luckily  for  him  and  for  America,  Washington's  bringing 
up  was  less  luxurious  than  that  of  his  friends  and  kinsmen. 
Circumstances,  and  his  mother,  trained  the  lad  to  be  as 
hardy  as  an  Indian  on  the  war-path,  and  as  simple  and  self- 
reliant  as  a  New  England  farm-boy  of  the  type  that  gave 
statesmen  to  the  North.  For  him,  there  was  no  voyage  to 
the  mother-country,  with  grand  opportunities  for  rubbing 
off  colonial  awkwardness.  His  first  schooling  (if  the 
chronicler  Weems  be  right)  was  derived  from  one  of  his 
father's  tenants  —  a  slow,  rusty  old  man  named  Hobby, 
who  was  sexton  as  well  as  dominie,  and  who,  in  the  inter 
vals  of  teaching- "  the  three  R's  "  to  the  neighbors'  girls  and 
boys,  swept  out  the  church,  and,  now  and  then,  dug  a  grave. 
The  next  master  was  a  certain  Mr.  Williams,  graduate  of 
the  Wakefield  school  in  Yorkshire,  upon  whom  Weems  be- 


Washington  as  an  Athlete  151 

stows  this  rap,  in  passing:  "Mr.  Williams,  George's  first 
tutor,  knew  as  little  Latin  as  Balaam's  ass." 

Latin  or  not,  George  acquired  the  foundation  of  a  fair 
education  for  that  time,  and  to  this  his  enormous  industry, 
aided  by  much  reading  of  good  English  literature  in  after 
days,  supplied  what  was  lacking. 

People  who  have  forgotten  Washington's  battles  remem 
ber  the  cherry-tree  and  his  hatchet.  Weems  started  that 
pleasing  tale,  and  it  is  he  who  tells  also  of  a  race  on  foot 
between  George  and  his  neighbor,  "  Langy  Dade." 

First,  let  me  tell  you  —  for  boys  to-day  resemble  the 
Apostle  Paul  in  one  thing,  certainly:  they  like  to  prove  all 
things  — •  that  among  the  many  authors  who  have  written 
about  the  youth  of  Washington,  the  one  upon  whose  pre 
serves  all  the  rest  have  browsed,  whose  quaint  stories  have 
come  to  be  our  classics,  was  this  very  Parson  Weems. 

People  who  have  grown  up  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Mount  Vernon,  where  Weems  was  well  known,  are  not 
quite  sure  whether  there  ever  was  a  hatchet  —  or,  for  that 
matter,  even  a  cherry-tree  in  the  garden  of  excellent  Mr. 
Augustine  Washington,  near  Fredericksburg! 

For  Parson  Weems  was  reputed  to  have  a  very  vivid 
imagination.  He  used  to  drive  about  Fairfax  County  in 
an  old-fashioned  gig  with  a  calash,  peddling  his  own  books 
and  others,  from  plantation  to  plantation.  When  he  suc 
ceeded  in  making  a  sale,  he  would  whip  out  the  fiddle  that 
always  accompanied  him,  and,  standing  up  in  his  gig,  play 
the  merriest,  maddest,  dance-music.  The  negroes,  who 
stood  gaping  round  his  gig,  could  no  more  resist  him  than 
the  rats  could  resist  the  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin!  First, 
they  swayed,  then  they  beat  time  with  foot  and  hand,  and 


152    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

at  last  broke  into  a  regular  corn-shucking  jig!  When 
Weems  remained  overnight  at  the  house  of  one  of  his 
patrons,  he  would  volunteer  to  read  family  prayers,  and  at 
the  moment  the  last  "  Amen  "  was  said,  would  fall  to  play 
ing  reels  and  jigs  upon  his  fiddle.  His  sermons  were  the 
oddest  ever  heard  from  a  Church  of  England  clergyman. 
He  was  often  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  from  General  and 
Mrs.  Washington  he  received  many  kindnesses.  In  the 
course  of  much  fireside  gossip,  during  his  wanderings  from 
one  country-house  to  another,  Mr.  Weems  picked  up  the 
anecdotes  of  Washington's  youth,  which  he  has  told  in  his 
book.  And  if  you  are  ever  so  fortunate  as  to  visit  the 
rooms  of  the  Society  Library  in  University  Place,  New 
York,  ask  permission  to  see  a  copy  they  have  there,  an 
early  edition,  of  this  famous  "  Life  of  George  Washing 
ton."  It  was  published  in  1814,  with  an  introduction  by 
"  Light  Horse  Harry  Lee." 

And  now  for  the  foot-races,  as  reported  by  Parson 
Weems :  "  '  Egad !  he  ran  wonderfully,' 
said  my  amiable  and  aged  friend,  John 
Fitzhugh,  Esq.,  who  knew  Washington 
well.  *  We  had  nobody  hereabouts  that 
could  come  near  him.  There  was  a 
young  Langhorn  Dade  of  Westmoreland, 
a  confounded  clean-made,  tight  young 
fellow,  and  a  mighty  swift  runner,  too. 
But  then,  he  was  no  match  for  George. 
Langy,  indeed,  did  not  like  to  give  it  up, 
and  would  brag  that  he  had  sometimes  brought  George  to  a 
tie.  But  I  believe  he  was  mistaken,  for  I  have  seen  them 
run  together  many  a  time,  and  George  always  beat  him  easy 
enough.' ' 


Washington  as  an  Athlete  153 

As  in  running,  so  in  wrestling,  in  the  use  of  foils,  in  high- 
jumping,  climbing,  shooting  at  a  mark,  and  pitching  quoits, 
George  excelled  his  mates.  Before  our  war  between  the 
States,  they  used  to  show  at  an  old  tobacco-warehouse  in 
Alexandria  some  weights, —  one,  I  believe,  of  more  than 
fifty  pounds, —  said  to  have  been  thrown  by  Washington  in 
a  match  where  first  boys,  then  men,  were  surpassed  and  put 
to  confusion  by  his  achievements.  His  unusually  long  arms 
and  immense  hands  were  justly  a  source  of  wonder  in  such 
contests. 

The  river  near  which  was  his  first  home, —  the  Rappa- 
hannock, —  while  not  so  wide  as  the  Potomac  or  the  James, 
is  yet  wide  enough  to  fill  with  astonishment  the  looker-on 
who  is  to-day  shown  where  young  Washington  threw  a  piece 
of  slate  the  size  of  a  silver  dollar  across  the  river,  clearing 
thirty  yards  beyond  the  opposite  bank.  Of  the  many  who 
have  since  tried  to  emulate  this  feat,  not  one,  it  is  claimed, 
has  succeeded  in  clearing  even  the  water  there.  Another 
time,  Washington  stood  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  running 
under  the  Natural  Bridge  of  Virginia,  .which  towers  two 
hundred  feet  above,  and  hurled  a  stone  upon  the  top  of  the 
arch.  And  again,  when  older,  he  threw  a  stone  from  the 
Palisades  into  the  Hudson. 

Washington  never  lost  his  taste  for  this  branch  of  athlet 
ics.  Charles  Wilson  Peale,  the  soldier-artist,  who  por 
trayed  several  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution  at  head 
quarters  during  their  campaigns,  was  himself  an  adept  in 
athletic  exercises.  On  one  occasion,  in  1772,  while  at 
Mount  Vernon,  there  was  upon  the  lawn  a  party  of  young 
fellows,  playing  at  "  pitching  the  bar,"  when  Colonel  Wash 
ington  suddenly  appeared  among  them,  and,  without  tak 
ing  off  his  coat,  held  out  his  hand  to  claim  the  bar.  "  No 


154    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

sooner,"  said  Peak,  in  describing  the  scene  to  a  friend, 
"  did  the  heavy  iron  bar  feel  the  grasp  of  his  mighty  hand 
than  it  lost  the  power  of  gravitation  and  whizzed  through 
the  air,  striking  the  ground  far,  very  far,  beyond  our  ut 
most  limits.  We  were  indeed  amazed  as  we  stood  around, 
all  stripped  to  the  buff,  with  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up,  and 
having  thought  ourselves  very  clever  fellows;  while  the 
Colonel,  on  retiring,  pleasantly  observed,  '  When  you  beat 
my  pitch,  young  gentlemen,  I  '11  try  again.'  ' 

A  tale  still  current  in  Washington's  old  home  neighbor 
hood  in  Virginia  recounts  how  once  as  a  stripling  he  sat 
reading  under  the  shade  of  an  oak-tree  near  his  school. 
Some  of  his  friends  had  engaged  a  champion  wrestler 
of  the  county  to  test  their  strength  in  an  impromptu  ring. 
One  after  another  fell  a  victim  to  the  champion's  skill,  till, 
grown  bold  at  last,  he  strode  back  and  forth  like  one  of  the 
giants  of  old-time  romance,  daring  the  only  boy  who  had 
not  wrestled  with  him  either  to  put  his  book  down  and 
come  into  the  ring  or  own  himself  afraid ! 

This  was  more  than  the  self-contained  Washington  could 
stand.  Quietly  closing  his  book,  he  accepted  the  challenge. 
Long  after,  when  the  student  under  the  oak-tree  had  be 
come  the  conqueror  with  whose  honored  name  the  whole 
civilized  world  resounded,  the  ex-champion  told  what  fol 
lowed,  "  After  a  fierce,  short  struggle,"  he  said,  "  I  felt 
myself  grasped  and  hurled  upon  the  ground,  with  a  jar  that 
shook  the  marrow  of  my  bones." 

With  the  memory  of  these  boyish  encounters  in  mind, 
and  with  all  his  sympathy  for  athletic  exercises,  think  what 
it  must  have  been  to  Washington,  when  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Revolutionary  Army,  to  come  upon  a  party 
of  his  young  officers  amusing  themselves  at  a  game  of 


Washington  as  an  Athlete 


155 


"  fives,"  and,  in  spite  of  his  evident  enjoyment  of  the  sport, 
to  find  them  too  much  overcome  with  awe  to  go  on  playing. 

It  was  in  vain  that  the  General  encouraged  them  to  re 
sume  their  sport;  so,  at  last,  feeling  that  greatness  has  its 
drawbacks,  he  bowed,  wished  his  officers  good-day,  and 
walked  away. 

As  a  horseman,  from 
beginning  to  end  of  his 
vigorous  life,  Washington 
had  no  peer.  Like  all  Vir 
ginian  boys,  he  took  to  the 
saddle  as  a  duck  takes  to 
water.  Once  astride  his 
steed,  it  was  all  but  im 
possible  to  dislodge  him. 
From  the  day  when  as  a 
lad  he  first  rode  fo  hounds 
after  old  Lord  Fairfax,  of 
Greenway  Court,  across 
the  county  named  for  that 
worthy  nobleman,  he  was 
a  skilled  and  dashing  fox-  Washington's  secretary  and  book- 
hunter.  In  the  army, 

when  on  horseback,  riding  down  the  line,  cheered  to 
the  echo  by  the  soldiers,  who  believed,  with  a  supersti 
tion  worthy  of  the  ancients,  that  here  was  a  being  born 
to  lead  them,  he  was  physically  the  most  imposing  fig 
ure  present.  In  person,  Washington  showed  in  his  ma 
turity  the  fruits  of  the  lifetime  he  had  given  to  what  ath 
letes  nowadays  call  "  training."  His  habits,  at  all  times, 


were  those  exacted  of  a  "  crew 


or 


team "  of  modern 


days,  before  the  occasions  when  those  heroes  appear   in 


156     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

public,  to  fill  with  despair  or  exultation  the  bosoms  of  their 
friends.  From  the  Indians  of  the  Shenandoah  wilderness, 
among  whom  he  spent  weeks  during  his  first  surveying  tour, 
he  learned  the  swift,  elastic  tread  that  distinguished  him  in 
wralking.  His  powers  of  endurance  were  worthy  of  his 
extraordinary  physical  strength,  though  it  must  be  said  he 
had  few  illnesses  to  test  his  constitution,  and,  indeed,  was 
rarely  ailing.  It  may  be  some  consolation  to  aspirant 
heroes  of  the  future  to  hear,  while  upon  this  topic,  that 
Mrs.  Washington  said  it  was  well  the  general  was  so  rarely 
ill,  as  she  could  never  get  him  to  take  his  medicine ! 


THE  SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION 
OF  INDEPENDENCE 

BY  MARY  V.  WORSTELL 

How  many  boys  and  girls  can  tell,  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  the  number  of  men  who  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence?  There  are  doubtless  many  who  can 
answer  correctly,  fifty-six. 

But  how  much  do  we  know  about  the  lives  and  person 
alities  of  these  men?  and  have  we  ever  stopped  to  think 
what  it  meant  to  them  to  put  their  names  to  the  most 
famous  document  in  the  history  of  our  country?  Now  and 
then  we  meet  people  who  can  say  that  they  are  descendants 
of  some  "  signer,"  and  very  proud  they  seem  to  be  of  that 
fact.  They  may  well  be  proud,  for  consider  for  a  moment 
what  it  meant  to  sign  the  Great  Document.  It  meant  that 
the  signer  publicly  proclaimed  himself  an  enemy  to  a  great 
and  powerful  king  —  became  a  rebel,  in  fact ;  and  we  all 
know  the  fate  that  commonly  overtakes  rebels.  To-day  we 
seldom  think  of  the  trials  and  misfortunes  that  followed  the 
signing;  we  think  only  of  the  glory. 

Although  George  III  paid  little  attention  to  the  many 
protests  that  had  been  presented  to  him  by  the  colonies,  he 
yet  kept  a  close  watch  on  these  restless  subjects,  and  his  rep 
resentatives  well  knew  all  that  was  going  on. 

To  the  Second  Continental  Congress,  assembled  in  Phila 
delphia  in  1776,  were  sent,  from  the  thirteen  original  colo- 


158    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Signing  the  Declaration. 

nies,  delegates  whose  loyalty  was  undoubted.  Patriotism 
was  not  profitable  in  those  far-away  days.  Robert  Morris, 
the  great  financier  of  the  Revolution,  sacrificed  a  large  for 
tune  in  his  country's  behalf;  Thomas  Nelson,  of  Virginia, 
also  lost  a  large  fortune  by  the  war ;  while  the  immortal 
Samuel  Adams,  who  dedicated  his  life  to  the  service  of  his 
beloved  country,  lived  and  died  a  poor  man. 

But  let  me  present  to  you,  very  briefly,  these  fifty-six 
men;  and  possibly,  after  this  introduction,  you  may  wish 
to  know  more  of  their  lives  and  achievements. 

GEORGIA 

Georgia  sent  three  delegates,  and  of  these  (i)  George 
Walton  was  the  youngest.  He  was  an  ambitious  boy  who 
was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter  so  niggardly  that  he  would 
not  allow  the  lad  a  candle  by  which  to  study.  Luckily, 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        159 


George  Walton  Lyman  Hall  Button  Gwinnett 

wood  was  plentiful,  and  by  the  light  of  a  burning  torch 
Walton  studied  hard  and  in  time  became  a  lawyer.  (2) 
Lyman  Hall  came  from  New  England.  Before  he  was 
twenty-one  he  had  married  and  settled  in  Georgia,  to  which 
place  he  was  accompanied  by  about  forty  families.  The 
patriotism  of  these  settlers  has  left  a  permanent  impress  on 
the  State,  for  its  counties  were  named  after  such  British 
statesmen  as  showed  themselves  friends  to  the  American 
colonies.  Look  them  up  on  the  map  and  see  if  this  is  not 
so.  You  will  find  also  a  county  named  after  this  signer. 
(3)  Button  Gwinnett  was  an  Englishman  who  came  to 
this  country  when  he  was  thirty-eight  years  old.  He  took 
up  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  colonies  with  much  enthusiasm 
-  too  much,  in  fact,  for  he  became  involved  in  a  quarrel, 
and  in  the  duel  which  followed  he  lost  his  life. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA 

South  Carolina  furnished  four  delegates,  among  them  ( I ) 
Edward  Rutledge,  who  was  the  youngest  man  to  sign  the 
Declaration,  for  he  was  only  twenty-seven  at  the  time.  All 
of  the  South  Carolina  signers  —  Rutledge,  (2)  Arthur 
Middleton,  (3)  Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.,  and  (4)  Thomas 


160     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


Edward  Rutledge 


Arthur  Middleton         Thomas  Heyward,  Jr. 


Lynch,  Jr. —  came  of  wealthy  families,  and  the  three  former 
had  received  the  benefit  of  a  foreign  education.  Three 
years  after  signing  the  Declaration,  Thomas  Lynch,  then 
in  poor  health,  sailed  for  France,  and  his  ship  never  was 
heard  of  again.  While  Arthur  Middleton  was  in  Phila 
delphia,  a  delegate  to  the  Second  Con 
tinental  Congress,  he  and  John  Han 
cock,  with  their  families,  occupied  the 
same  house.  Both  men  were  wealthy 
and  hospitable,  and  they  drew  around 
them  a  choice  circle  of  friends.  Lynch 
was  the  only  signer  from  South  Car- 
Thomas  Lynch  Tr  olina  who  did  not  suffer  imprisonment 
for  his  efforts  in  his  country's  behalf. 


NORTH    CAROLINA 

North  Carolina  sent  three  delegates.  ( i )  Joseph  Hewes 
was  born  a  Quaker;  he  was  a  man  of  intense  patriotism, 
and  in  time  he  became  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  with 
almost  unlimited  powers ;  and  though  to  him  the  war  meant 
great  financial  loss,  he  never  swerved  in  his  devotion  to  his 
country.  (2)  William  Hooper  was  a  Boston  man  who  was 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        l6l 


William  Hooper 


Joseph  Hewes 


partly  educated  by 
his  father,  who  was 
pastor  of  Trinity 
Church.  Having 

studied  law,  he  set 
tled  in  North  Car 
olina ;  hut  his  life 
in  the  new  country 
proved  a  hard  one, 
for  the  only  way  of  traveling  was  on  horseback,  and 
some  of  the  courts  were  two  hundred  miles  from  his 
home.  (3)  John  Penn  was  a  bright  boy  whose  early 
education  was  neglected,  but  this  loss 
was  speedily  made  good  when  his 
relative,  the  distinguished  Edmund 
Pendleton,  placed  his  fine  library  at 
the  lad's  disposal.  John  Penn  filled 
many  offices,  and  on  the  return  of 
peace  he  withdrew  to  private  life,  not 
enriched,  but  impoverished,  by  the  of 
fices  he  had  held. 


MARYLAND 

Maryland  sent  four  delegates.  ( i )  William  Paca  was 
a  man  of  graceful  address  and  polished  manners  and  came 
of  a  fine  old  family,  while  (2)  Thomas  Stone  was  a 
younger  son  with  no  prospects  at  all.  But  he  was  eager  for 
an  education,  and  he  secured  it  by  daily  attendance  at  a 
school  ten  miles  from  his  home.  It  would  be  easy  to  pre 
dict  success  for  a  boy  of  such  pluck ;  and  indeed  he  achieved 
success,  for  five  times  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  (3) 


162     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


William  Paca 


much  interested. 


Thomas  Stone 


Samuel    Chase    was 

called   the   "  Demos 
thenes  of  Maryland." 

He  was  a  fine  orator 

and  a  kindly  man  as 

well.     One  time,  on 

a  visit  to  Baltimore, 

he  met  a  young  man 

in  whom  he  became 

He  not  only  placed  his  library  at  his 
disposal ;  he  invited  him  to  make  his  home  with  him. 
Chase  lived  to  see  his  generosity  justified,  for  the  young 
man  was  no  other  than  William  Pinckney,  one  of  the  most 

distinguished        law-     r 

yers      our      country 

has    ever    produced. 

(4)   Charles   Carroll 

of     Carrollton     (the 

"of  Carrollton"  was 

added     by     him     to 

identify  himself    for 

punishment    in    case 

the  mother-country  won)    and  destined  to  outlive  all  the 
others. 


Charles  Carroll 


Samuel  Chase 


DELAWARE 

Delaware  sent  three  representatives,  (i)  George  Read 
was  a  man  of  cool  and  deliberate  judgment  in  spite  of  Irish 
descent;  and  an  interesting  phase  of  his  character  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  his  first  act  as  a  lawyer  was  to  give  up 
all  rights  to  his  father's  estate,  declaring  that  his  education 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        163 


George  Read 


Thomas  McKean 


represented  his 

proper  share.  (2) 
Thomas  McKean 
was  a  truly  remark 
able  man.  For  fifty 
years  he  was  in 
public  life,  and  he 
filled  many  promi 
nent  and  honorable 

offices.     For  many  years  he  was  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  third  delegate,   (3)   Qesar  Rodney,  chanced  to  be  in 

Delaware   when   the    Declaration   was    ready    for    signing. 

Read  was  slow  to  favor  independence,  while  McKean  was 

eager    for   it.     The   vote   of   Rodney, 

therefore,    would   turn   the   scales    for 

Delaware,   so   McKean  sent  a   special 

messenger  to  Rodney,  urging  his  im 
mediate  return  to  Philadelphia.  The 

result  was  a  hurried  ride  on  horseback 

of   eighty   miles;   a   historic   ride   that 

decided  the  vote   for  the  Declaration. 

Rodney    reached    Philadelphia   just    in 

the  nick  of  time,  and  an  old  record  says  that  "  he  voted 

with  his  boots  on." 


Caesar  Rodney 


RHODE    ISLAND 

Rhode  Island  furnished  two  delegates,  ( i )  Stephen  Hop 
kins  and  (2)  William  Ellery.  Next  to  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Hopkins  was  the  oldest  man  to  sign  the  Declaration. 
Though  his  education  was  meager,  he  was  ambitious  to 
learn,  and  by  hard  study  he  became  a  fine  mathematician 


164     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

and   surveyor.     William   Ellery  paid    dearly    for  his   con 
nection    with   the    Continental    Congress,    for    the    British 


Stephen  Hopkins 


William  Ellery 


burned  his  home,  and  other  property  of  his  was  seriously 
damaged. 


NEW   HAMPSHIRE 


Of  New  Hampshire's  three  delegates,  two  were  physi 
cians.     When  ( i )  Dr.  Matthew  Thornton  was  only  thirty- 


Matthew  Thornton 


Josiah  Bartlett 


William  W7hipple 


one  he  took  part  in  the  famous  capture  of  Louisbourg  by 
Pepperel  and  Warren,  assuming,  with  success,  the  medical 
care  of  the  New  Hampshire  division.  (2)  Dr.  Josiah 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        165 

Bartlett  was  an  energetic  man  whose  profession  could  not 
keep  him  out  of  political  life.  During  the  sixty-six  years 
of  his  life  he  did  the  work  of  a  dozen  men.  (3)  William 
Whipple  began  his  life  under  unfavorable  circumstances, 
for  he  was  a  sailor,  and  before  he  was  twenty-one  he  was 
in  charge  of  a  vessel  engaged  in  importing  slaves.  But 
this  life  was  soon  given  up,  and  he  rendered  fine  service 
in  Congress,  where  his  knowledge  of  naval  affairs  proved 
valuable  on  various  committees. 


CONNECTICUT 

Connecticut  furnished  four  delegates.  ( i )  Oliver  Wol- 
cott  came  of  a  famous  Connecticut  family  and  was  destined 
for  the  medical  profession.  But  he  soon  abandoned  medi 
cine  for  politics  and  military  life,  and  quickly  rose  to  dis 
tinction.  (2)  William  Williams  was  a  nephew  of  Colonel 
Ephraim  Williams,  who  founded  Williamstown  and  Will 
iams  College.  With  this  uncle,  William  Williams,  while 
still  a  young  man,  made  a  journey  to  Lake  George,  and 
the  glimpse  of  military  life  under  British  officers  that 
this  afforded  served  to  strengthen  his  wish  for  indepen 
dence. 

Connecticut  may  well  be  proud  of  (3)  Samuel  Hunting- 
ton  and  (4)  Roger  Sherman,  for  the  first  was  a  farmer's 
son,  yet  so  eager  was  he  for  an  education  that  he  not  only 
acquired  it,  but  he  held  high  offices.  In  1780  this  farmer's 
son  was  President  of  Congress  and  later  Governor  of  Con 
necticut,  while  Roger  Sherman  spent  the  first  twenty-two 
years  of  his  life  at  the  cobbler's  bench.  But  a  book  was  al 
ways  close  at  hand,  so  that  every  spare  moment  might  be 


166     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


put  to  good  use.     He  not  only  filled  many  public  offices ;  he 
was  one  of  the  five  appointed  to  draw  up  the  Declaration  - 
a  great  honor,  only  to  be  bestowed  on  one  of  ripe  judgment. 


Oliver  Wolcott 


William  Williams 


Samuel  Huntington 


Roger  Sherman 


John  Adams  said  that  "  Roger  Sherman  had  a  clear  head 
and  a  steady  heart,  and  was  one  of  the  soundest  and 
strongest  pillars  of  the  Revolution." 


NEW  YORK 


New  York  sent  four  representatives.  ( i )  Both  Francis 
Lewis  and  (2)  William  Floyd  were  of  Welsh  descent,  and 
both  made  to  suffer  greatly  for  signing  the  Declaration, 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        167 


for  their  homes  were  plundered  and  destroyed  by  the  British. 
(3)  Lewis  Morris,  still  another  New  York  signer,  was  made 
to  suffer  also,  for  he  was  a  rich  man  with  a  great  estate. 


Francis  Lewis 


Lewis  Morris 


Philip  Livingston 


William  Floyd 


A  British  force  was  stationed  near  his  home;  nevertheless, 
he  pluckily  put  his  name  to  the  document.  In  revenge, 
the  British  burned  his  home  and  more  than  a  thousand 
acres  of  woodland.  But  the  patriotism  of  Lewis  Morris 
never  wavered,  and  in  time  his  three  sons  took  up  arms 
in  behalf  of  their  country.  The  name  of  Livingston  has 
long  been  an  honored  one  in  the  annals  of  New  York  City. 
In  1746  there  were  but  few  in  the  whole  colony  who  had 


i68     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

received  a  college  education,  and  of  these  (4)  Philip  Liv 
ingston  was  one.  After  graduating  from  Yale  College 
he  engaged  in  commerce  and  soon  laid  the  foundation  of 
an  ample  fortune.  At  the  age  of  forty-six  his  health 
failed,  but,  being  a  member  of  Congress,  he  would  not 
abandon  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  died  while  in  office, 
deeply  lamented  by  the  young  nation  he  had  served  so 
faithfully. 

NEW    JERSEY 

Of  the  five  delegates  sent  to  Philadelphia  by  New  Jersey, 
two  were  farmers,  (i)  John  Hart  and  (2)  Abraham  Clark. 
When  the  British  invaded  New  Jersey,  Hart's  home  and 
farm  were  laid  waste  and  Hart  himself,  then  a  man  of 
seventy-one,  was  hunted  from  place  to  place.  Tradition 
says  that  at  one  time  he  was  so  sorely  beset  that  he  was 
obliged  to  hide  in  a  dog-kennel.  It  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  he  lived  to  repair  the  damage  done  by  his  enemies. 
Abraham  Clark  was  one  of  those  who  were  eager  for  in 
dependence,  and  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  secure  it  for  his 
country.  (3)  Francis  Hopkinson  was  a  fine  student  and  a 
member  of  the  first  class  that  the  University  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ever  graduated.  No  noisy  fun  for  him,  for,  as  Dr. 
Benjamin  Rush  quaintly  says  of  him,  "  his  wit  was  mild 
and  elegant  and  infused  cheerfulness  and  a  species  of  deli 
cate  joy  into  the  hearts  of  all  who  heard  it."  (4)  Richard 
Stockton  was  a  man  of  wealth,  position,  and  culture.  He 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  he 
conferred  a  great  favor  on  the  college  there  when  he  in 
duced  to  come  to  this  country  (5)  Dr.  John  Witherspoon, 
a  learned  Scottish  divine.  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  the  only 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        169 

clergyman  to  sign  the  Declaration.     He  was  the  sixth  presi 
dent  of  Princeton  College,  and  devoted  himself  not  only  to 


mm 

Abraham  Clark 


Francis  Hopkinson 


John  Hart 


John  Witherspoon 


Richard  Stockton 


the  college,  but  to  the  country  of  his  adoption,  for  it  is  said 
that  he  became  an  American  and  an  ardent  patriot  as  soon 
as  he  reached  our  shores. 


PENNSYLVANIA 

Pennsylvania  sent  more  delegates  than  any  other  colony 
—  nine,  (i)  Benjamin  Franklin  was  the  oldest  of  all  the 
signers.  We  may  be  sure  that  this  truly  great  man  was  a 
prominent  figure  in  that  remarkable  gathering.  Almost 


l JO     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

as  notable  was  (2)-  Robert  Morris,  the  great  financier  of 
the  Revolution.  Though  he  was  slow  at  first  to  favor 
independence,  later  he  showed  the  truest  patri 
otism,  for  his  financial  aid  tided  the  young  country  over 
serious  difficulties.  "  The  Americans,"  says  one  historian, 
"  owe  as  much  acknowledgment  to  the  financial  operations 
of  Robert  Morris  as  to  the  negotiations  of  Benjamin  Frank 
lin,  or  even  to  the  arms  of  Washington."  (3)  Dr.  Benja 
min  Rush  may  well  be  honored,  for  he  was  a  physician  of 
high  standing;  and  in  1793,  when  Philadelphia  was  visited 
by  yellow  fever,  and  more  than  4500  fell  victims  in  three 
months,  Dr.  Rush  was  one  of  three  physicians  who  nobly 
remained  at  their  posts.  (4)  James  Wilson  was  a  young 
Scotchman  who  came  to  this  country  when  he  was  twenty- 
one.  By  the  time  he  was  only  twenty-six  he  was  the  ac 
knowledged  head  of  the  Philadelphia  bar.  The  name  of 
this  signer  has  recently  been  brought  into  notice.  He  died 
while  at  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  but  in  1906  his  remains 
were  brought  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  were  interred  in 
the  graveyard  of  Christ's  Church.  There  were  appro 
priate  ceremonies  in  which  many  legal  and  patriotic  so 
cieties  took  part,  as  well  as  representatives  of  the  national 


Benjamin  Franklin  Robert  Morris  Benjamin  Rush 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        171 


James  Wilson 


George  Clymer 


James  Smith 


George  Taylor 


John  Morton 


George  Ross 


government.  (5)  George  Clymer  was  another  delegate  of 
sturdy  patriotism,  and  so  was  (6)  James  Smith.  The  lat 
ter  was  a  man  of  genial  disposition,  keen  sense  of  humor, 
and  great  benevolence.  (7)  George  Taylor  was  an  Irish 
man,  and  came  to  this  country  to  avoid  studying  medi 
cine.  He  worked  in  a  foundry,  and  after  some  years  he 
became  its  proprietor.  (8)  John  Morton  was  a  boy  who 
had  but  three  months'  schooling,  but  this  was  followed  by 
such  wide  reading  and  study,  under  the  supervision  of  his 
stepfather,  that  in  time  he  became  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania.  (9)  George  Ross, 
still  another  of  the  Pennsylvania  signers,  must  have  been 


172     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

a  model  delegate,  for  his  conduct  in  Congress  was  so 
highly  approved  by  his  constituents  that  they  voted  him 
more  than  six  hundred  dollars  with  which  to  purchase  a 
piece  of  silver.  But  Ross  was  as  modest  as  he  was  loyal, 
and  he  refused  the  gift. 


MASSACHUSETTS 

The  five  delegates  from  Massachusetts  Bay  formed  a 
famous  group,  (i)  Elbridge  Gerry  was  in  public  life 
many  years.  From  the  time  when  he  first  took  his  seat  in 
the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-nine,  till,  as  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
under  Madison,  he  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  the  story 
of  his  life  is  the  story  of  devotion  to  country.  (2)  Robert 
Treat  Paine  was  born,  so  the  chroniclers  tell  us,  "  of  pious 
and  respectable  parents."  He  entered  Harvard  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  and  on  graduating  he  taught  school  for  a  time 
in  order  to  earn  enough  money  to  study  law,  and  in  time 
he  won  distinction  as  an  able  lawyer.  The  careers  of  (3) 
John  Adams  and  his  kinsman,  (4)  Samuel  Adams,  cannot 
be  summed  up  in  a  few  words.  John  Adams  was  a  man 
of  marvelous  industry,  serving  in  Congress  on  no  less  than 
ninety  different  committees.  He  was  twice  Vice-President 
before  filling  the  Presidential  chair  for  one  term;  and  the 
closing  years  of  his  busy  and  useful  life  were  brightened  by 
watching  the  career  of  his  son,  John  Quincy  Adams,  who, 
in  time,  also  became  President  —  a  wonderful  record  only 
equaled  by  the  Harrisons  of  Virginia.  John  Adams  was 
said  to  have  "  the  clearest  head  and  the  firmest  heart  of 
any  man  in  Congress."  Samuel  Adams  embarked  for 
a  time  in  commerce,  but  this  proved  as  disastrous  as  his 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        173 

political  life  was  brilliant.  He  made  no  secret  of  his  wish 
for  independence,  and  this  so  irritated  Governor  Gage 
that  he  issued  his  celebrated  proclamation  in  which  he 
promised  pardon  to  all  who  would  lay  down  their  arms, 
"  excepting  only  from  the  benefit  of  such  pardon  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock.""  He  held  many  honorable  of 
fices  in  the  young  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  time  he 
succeeded  John  Hancock  as  Governor.  He  died  in  his 
eighty-second  year,  a  very  poor  man.  In  fact,  he  has 
been  called  "  the  poor  gentleman."  But  now  his  country 
glories  in  his  illustrious  name  and  record.  (5)  John  Han 
cock  was  a  born  leader,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine  he  was 
elected  President  of  the  immortal  Second  Continental  Con- 


Elbridge  Gerry 


Robert  T.  Paine 


John  Adams 


Samuel  Adams 


John  Hancock 


174    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

gress.  Though  a  rich  man,  he  was  a  sincere  patriot,  for 
when  it  was  proposed  to  bombard  Boston,  he  gave  a  prompt 
and  hearty  assent,  though  it  would  have  caused  his  financial 
ruin.  He  loyally  declared  that  his  private  fortune  should 
on  no  occasion  oppose  an  obstacle  to  the  liberties  of  his 
country.  Of  all  the  signatures  on  the  Declaration,  we  re 
call  Hancock's  first;  for  he  said,  when  he  wrote  his  name, 
— -he  wrote  with  unusual  distinctness. —  that  "George  III 
might  read  it  without  spectacles."  Hancock  was  Governor 
of  Massachusetts  for  many  years. 


VIRGINIA 

The  Virginia  signers  all  came  of  prominent  families. 
( i )  Carter  Braxton  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  three  years'  sojourn 
abroad.  On  his  return  he  was  drawn  into  local  politics, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  a  notable  figure  in  the  history 
of  his  colony.  (2)  Benjamin  Harrison  entered  public  life 
while  he  was  still  a  young  man.  Great  Britain  recognized 
his  influence  and  sought  to  conciliate  him,  but  his  patriotism 
was  sturdy  and  he  was  not  to  be  bought  over.  In  time 
he  became  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  a  popular  one  he 
proved.  (3)  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  was  one  of  the  richest 
men  in  Virginia,  in  those  far-away  days.  Like  Carter 
Braxton,  he  was  born  to  wealth,  and  his  education  was 
completed  in  England.  One  incident  of  his  life  shows  us 
how  true  a  patriot  he  was,  for  when  he  was  in  command 
of  the  State  militia  at  Yorktown  it  was  thought  that  a  de 
cided  advantage  might  be  gained  by  bombarding  his  home. 
He  at  once  directed  the  gunners  to  attack  it,  saying,  "  Spare 
no  particle  of  my  property  so  long  as  it  affords  comfort  or 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        175 

shelter  to  the  enemies  of  my  country."  In  this  he  followed 
Hancock's  unselfish  example.  The  name  of  Lee  has  been 
an  honored  one  in  Virginia  for  many  years.  (4)  Francis 
Lightfoot  Lee  was  a  close  personal  friend  of  Washington, 
and  though  he  cared  little  for  public  life,  he  did  not  shirk 
its  duties.  For  seven  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  for  four  years  a  member  of  the  Continen 
tal  Congress.  In  his  own  home  he  was  always  the  charm 
ing  host,  the  bright  and  witty  companion,  the  self- forgetting 
friend.  His  more  brilliant  brother,  (5)  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  was  so  gifted  an  orator  that  he  was  called  "  the  Cicero 
of  America."  He  was  always  eager  for  complete  inde 
pendence,  and  so  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  it  was  this 
ardent  patriot  who  was  the  first  to  propose  that  "  these 
united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  inde 
pendent  States."  This  was  immediately  seconded  by  that 
other  ardent  lover  of  liberty,  John  Adams.  Jefferson  al 
ludes  to  Lee  as  "  eloquent,  bold,  and  ever  watchful  at  his 
post."  (6)  Chancellor  George  Wythe  was  a  famous  figure 
in  the  early  history  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  to  wealth, 
he  was  finely  educated,  and  in  time  he  won  high  distinction 
at  the' bar.  But  to-day  he  is  recalled  as  the  wise  teacher  of 
Thomas  Jefferson.  Both  master  and  pupil  signed  the 
Great  Document. 

In  thinking  of  the  Declaration,  one  name  always  stands 
out  like  a  great  mountain  peak,  towering  above  all  others 
-the  name  of  Thomas  Jefferson;  for  it  \vas  this  gifted 
man  who  drew  up  the  document,  and  he  did  it  with  such 
skill  that  hardly  a  word  of  it  was  changed.  As  Richard 
Henry  Lee  was  the  first  to  make  a  motion  suggesting  in 
dependence,  it  would  have  been  the  usual  and  courteous 
thing  to  make  him  chairman  of  the  committee  to  draw  up 


! 
Benjamin  Harrison 


Carter  Braxton 


Francis  L.  Lee 


George  Wythe 


The  Signers  of  the  Declaration        177 

the  document.  But  Lee  was  suddenly  recalled  to  his  Vir 
ginia  home,  and  so  it  seemed  only  fair  to  assign  the  delicate 
task  to  some  other  delegate  from  the  same  colony.  Jefferson 
was  no  orator,  but  he  had  already  earned  an  enviable  repu 
tation  as  a  writer  of  important  state  documents.  So  to 
him  was  assigned  the  delicate  but  momentous  task.  How 
well  he  performed  we  may  know  from  the  fact  that  his 
four  associates  could  suggest  only  a  very  few  changes. 

Many  of  the  signers  reached  high  offices  in  the  young 
republic.  Many  became  governors  of  the  new  States,  and 
two  were  elevated  to  the  Presidency,  Jefferson  and  John 
Adams.  One  truly  remarkable  fact  may  be  recalled  in 
connection  with  these  two,  namely,  that  both  men  died  on 
the  same  day;  and,  what  was  still  more  remarkable,  they 
died  just  fifty  years  to  a  day  after  the  united  colonies  were 
declared  independent,  namely,  on  July  4,  1826.  And 
when  they  passed  away  there  was  but  one  signer  living,  the 
venerable  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  survived 
Jefferson  and  Adams  for  six  years,  for  he  lived  to  be 
ninety-six  years  old. 

And  who  shall  describe  the  actual  signing  of  the  Great 
Document !  We  can  imagine  these  fine  and  courtly  gentle 
men  going,  one  by  one,  to  the  broad  table  which  may  be 
seen  to-day  in  Independence  Hall.  William  Ellery,  one  of 
the  Rhode  Island  delegates,  afterward  declared :  "  I  placed 
myself  beside  the  Secretary  and  eyed  each  closely  as  he 
affixed  his  name  to  the  document.  Undaunted  resolution 
was  displayed  in  every  countenance."  It  was,  indeed,  the 
proudest  moment  in  the  lives  of  these  fearless  men  who,  be 
lieving  in  the  righteousness  of  their  cause,  hazarded  lives 
and  fortunes  in  the  great  name  of  Liberty. 


178    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


THE  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  56  SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARA 
TION   OF  INDEPENDENCE 

(Arranged   in   alphabetical   order.     From  the    Emmet   collection,   New 

York  City) 

i.  John  Adams.  2.  Samuel  Adams.  3.  Josiah  Bartlett.  4.  Carter 
Braxton.  5.  Charles  Carroll.  6.  Samuel  Chase.  7.  Abraham  Clark. 
8.  George  Clymer.  9.  William  Ellery.  10.  William  Floyd,  u.  Benja 
min  Franklin.  12.  Elbridge  Gerry.  13.  Button  Gwinnett.  14.  Lyman 
Hall.  15.  John  Hancock.  16.  Benjamin  Harrison.  17.  John  Hart. 
18.  Joseph  Hewes.  19.  Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.  20.  William  Hooper. 
21.  Stephen  Hopkins.  22.  Francis  Hopkinson.  23.  Samuel  Huntington. 
24.  Thomas  Jefferson.  25.  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee.  26.  Richard  Henry 
Lee.  27.  Francis  Lewis.  28.  Philip  Livingston.  29.  Thomas  Lynch, 
Jr.  30.  Thomas  McKean.  31.  Arthur  Middleton.  32.  Lewis  Morris. 
33.  Robert  Morris.  34.  John  Morton.  35.  Thomas  Nelson.  36.  Wil 
liam  Paca.  37.  Robert  Treat  Paine.  38.  John  Penn.  39.  George 
Read.  40.  Csesar  Rodney.  41.  George  Ross.  42.  Benjamin  Rush.  43. 
Edward  Rutledge.  44.  Roger  Sherman.  45.  James  Smith.  46.  Rich 
ard  Stockton.  47.  Thomas  Stone.  48.  George  Taylor.  49.  Matthew 
Thornton.  50.  George  Walton.  51.  William  Whipple.  52.  William 
Williams.  53.  James  Wilson.  54.  John  Witherspoon.  55.  Oliver  'Wol- 
cott.  56.  George  Wythe. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON  (1777) 
FROM  THE  OFFICIAL  REPORT 

BY 
GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that,  since  the  date  of 
my  last  from  Trenton,  I  have  removed  with  the  army  un 
der  my  command  to  this  place.  The  difficulty  of  crossing 
the  Delaware,  on  account  of  the  ice,  made  our  passage  over 
it  tedious,  and  gave  the  enemy  an  opportunity  of  drawing 
in  their  several  cantonments,  and  assembling  their  whole 
force  at  Princeton.  Their  large  pickets  advanced  towards 
Trenton,  their  great  preparations,  and  some  intelligence  I 
had  received,  added  to  their  knowledge,  that  the  ist  of 
January  brought  on  a  dissolution  of  the  best  part  of  our 
army,  gave  me  the  strongest  reasons  to  conclude,  that  an 
attack  upon  us  was  meditating.  .  .  . 

On  the  2d  [of  January,  1777],  according  to  my  expecta 
tion,  the  enemy  began  to  advance  upon  us;  and,  after  some 
skirmishing,  the  head  of  their  column  reached  Trenton 
about  four  o'clock,  whilst  their  rear  was  as  far  back  as 
Maidenhead.  They  attempted  to  pass  Sanpink  Creek, 
which  runs  through  Trenton,  at  different  places;  but,  find 
ing  the  forts  guarded,  they  halted,  and  kindled  their  fires. 
We  were  drawn  up  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek.  In  this 
situation  we  remained  till  dark,  cannonading  the  enemy, 
and  receiving  the  fire  of  their  field-pieces,  which  did  us 
but  little  damage. 

179 


180     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Having  by  this  time  discovered,  that  the  enemy  were 
greatly  superior  in  number,  and  that  their  design  was  to 
surround  us,  I  ordered  all  our  baggage  to  be  removed 
silently  to  Burlington  soon  after  dark ;  and  at  twelve  o'clock 
after  renewing  our  fires,  and  leaving  guards  at  the  bridge 
in  Trenton,  and  other  passes  on  the  same  stream  above, 
marched  by  a  roundabout  road  to  Princeton,  where  I  knew 
they  could  not  have  much  force  left,  and  might  have  stores. 
One  thing  I  was  certain  of,  that  it  would  avoid  the  appear 
ance  of  a  retreat  (which  was  of  consequence,  or  to  run 
the  hazard  of  the  whole  army  being  cut  off),  whilst  we 
might  by  a  fortunate  stroke  withdraw  General  Howe  from 
Trenton,  and  give  some  reputation  to  our  arms.  Happily 
\ve  succeeded.  We  found  Princeton  about  sunrise,  with 
only  three  regiments  and  three  troops  of  light-horse  in  it, 


Nassau  Hall,  Princeton  University,  a  famous  relic  of  the  Revolution. 

two  of  which  were  on  their  march  to  Trenton.  These 
three  regiments,  especially  the  two  first,  made  a  gallant 
resistance,  and,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  must  have 
lost  five  hundred  men;  upwards  of  one  hundred  of  them 
were  left  dead  on  the  field  ;  and,  with  what  I  have  with  me 


The  Battle  of  Princeton    (1777)        181 

and  what  were  taken  in  the  pursuit  and  carried  across  the 
Delaware,  there  are  near  three  hundred  prisoners,  fourteen 
of  whom  are  officers,  all  British.  .  .  . 

.     .     .     The  militia  are  taking  spirits,  and,  I  am  told,  are 
coming  in  fast  from  this  State  [New  Jersey]  ;  but  I  fear 


% 


House  at  Rocky  Hill,  from  which  Washington,  in  1783,  issued  his 
"  Farewell    Orders." 

those  from  Philadelphia  will  scarcely  submit  to  the  hard 
ships  of  a  winter  campaign  much  longer,  especially  as  they 
very  unluckily  sent  their  blankets  with  their  baggage  to 
Burlington.  I  must  do  them  the  justice  however  to  add, 
that  they  have  undergone  more  fatigue  and  hardships, 
than  I  expected  militia,  especially  citizens,  would  have  done 
at  this  inclement  season.  I  am  just  moving  to  Morristown, 
where  I  shall  endeavor  to  put  them  under  the  best  cover  I 
can.  Hitherto  we  have  been  without  any;  and  many  of 
our  poor  soldiers  quite  barefoot,  and  ill  clad  in  other  re 
spects.  .  .  . 


182    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


NOTE 

Washington  spent  nearly  three  months  near  Princeton  in 
the  autumn  of  1783,  his  residence  being  at  a  modest  home 
above  the  hamlet  of  Rocky  Hill.  The  house  has  been  res 
cued  from  decay,  and  is  piously  preserved  as  a  colonial  and 
revolutionary  museum.  Well  it  might  be.  Near  the  scene 
of  his  greatest  strategic  feat,  perhaps  while  riding  about 
the  battle-field  itself,  he  may  have  conceived  the  substance 
of  what  he  embodied  in  his  "  Farewell  Orders  to  the  Armies 
of  the  United  States  "  and  dated  Rocky  Hill,  November  2, 
1783.  If  so,  Princeton  saw  the  double  climax  of  his  civil 
and  military  greatness. 

Nassau  Hall  is  a  historic  building  indeed.  It  had  been 
the  academy  of  Witherspoon's  boys  —  Madison,  Ellsworth, 
and  the  rest  of  them;  Richard  Stockton,  from  his  near-by 
home,  had  haunted  it;  and  Elias  Boudinot,  too.  All  these 
"  high  sons  of  liberty  "  had  kindled  revolutionary  fires  on 
its  hearthstone.  And  then  for  a  season  it  had  been  bar 
racks  and  cavalry  stables,  too,  until  freed  again  for  aca 
demic  use  by  the  last  struggle  in  the  battle  of  Princeton, 
which  was  fought  in  its  halls.  Congress,  fleeing  from 
Philadelphia  before  the  foolish  mutineers  marching  from 
Lancaster,  had  now  found  a  hospitable  welcome  in  the  col 
lege  chapel  under  its  roof.  They  had  brought  Washington 
thither  to  deliberate  on  what  is  certainly  the  most  solemn 
question  which  confronts  a  nation  at  the  close  of  a  war - 
namely,  the  dispersion  of  its  armed  force.  They  welcomed 
him  in  due  form  with  the  solemnity  and  dignity  befitting 
such  an  occasion.  The  first  duly  accredited  foreign  minis 
ter,  the  Dutch  envoy,  was  there  received,  in  recognition  of 
independence  not  merely  asserted,  but  won  and  acknowl- 


The  Battle  of  Princeton    (1777)        183 

edged.  The  General-in-chief  was  a  tired  wayfarer  on  the 
military  road;  he  longed  for  the  quiet  waters  and  pleasant 
pastures  of  Mt.  Vernon.  The  sober  advice  he  gave  in  his 
"  Farewell  Orders "  exhibits,  above  all  other  papers  he 
ever  wrote,  the  soundness  and  quality  of  his  civic  virtue. 
It  is  the  compendium  of  a  character  which  had  exhibited  a 
colossal  grasp  of  the  problems  of  peace  as  well  as  those  of 
war,  and  which,  in  erecting  a  civil  superstructure  on  the 
foundations  laid  in  war,  was  yet  to  expand  the  principles 
of  his  orders  into  the  broadest  statesmanship. 


NATHAN  HALE 
BY  MARY  S.  NORTHROP 

In  City  Hall  Park,  New  York  City,  stands  the  bronze 
statue  of  a  young  man,  the  story  of  whose  brief  life  thrills 
all  patriotic  hearts. 

The  statue  represents  him  pinioned,  awaiting  the  gal 
lows,  as  he  uttered  his  last  words. 

Americans  unite  in  admiration  of  his  noble  character, 
pride  in  his  self-forgetful  heroism,  and  grief  over  his  .un 
timely  death.  Every  boy  and  girl  in  America  should  know 
by  heart  the  life  of  Captain  Nathan  Hale.  It  is  a  story 
which  every  son  and  daughter  of  the  great  Republic  should 
enshrine  in  their  memories. 

In  the  darkest  hour  of  our  country's  struggle  for  liberty, 
this  self-devoted  hero  —  inspired  with  fervid  patriotism 
and  eager  to  render  service  to  his  country  —  laid  down  his 
young  life,  a  sacrifice  to  the  cause  of  American  liberty. 

The  days  and  weeks  that  followed  that  memorable  Fourth 
of  July  in  1776  were  dark  indeed  for  the  struggling  colo 
nists. 

Determined  to  crush  with  one  effort  the  insurrection  in 
her  American  colonies,  Great  Britain  sent  that  summer  a 
larger  force  than  any  which  had  before  landed  upon  our 
shores. 

You  know  the  story  of  the  disastrous  battle  upon  Long 
Island  —  where  the  few  thousand  ill-clothed,  undisciplined 
provincial  troops  faced  a  splendidly  equipped  army,  many 

184 


Nathan  Hale  185 

regiments  of  which  were  veterans.  The  raw  American 
troops,  despite  their  courage  and  heroism,  were  no  match 
for  the  trained  and  skilled  soldiery  of  Great  Britain;  and 
even  General  Washington,  undemonstrative  and  reserved 
as  he  was,  is  said  to  have  wrung  his  hands  in  anguish  upon 
seeing  his  troops  defeated  and  driven  back,  he  being  power 
less  to  aid  them. 

During  the  night  of  August  29,  1776,  Washington  es 
caped  with  the  remainder  of  his  little  army  across  the 
East  River. 

The  troops  were  so  greatly  depressed  by  their  defeat, 
and  were  in  so  alarming  a  state  of  gloom  and  despondency, 
that  men  deserted  by  the  score. 

Washington  sorely  needed  information  of  the  strength 
and  probable  movements  of  the  powerful  enemy.  He 


Birthplace  of  Nathan  Hale,  Coventry,  .Conn. 


l86     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

deemed  it  necessary  that  some  skilled  soldier  should  go,  as 
a  spy,  within  the  British  lines,  and  procure  for  him  the 
knowledge  so  much  desired,  that  he  might  be  "  warned  in 
ample  time." 

He  wrote  to  General  Heath  that  "  everything  depended 
upon  obtaining  intelligence  of  the  enemy's  motions,"  and 
he  entreated  him  and  General  Clinton  to  "  leave  no  stone 
unturned  "  to  secure  information. 

The  commander-in-chief's  desire  became  generally  known 
among  his  officers,  but  so  perilous  was  the  service  that  for 
a  time  no  one  offered  to  undertake  it. 

Captain  Nathan  Hale,  a  brilliant  young  officer  belonging 
to  "  Knowlton's  Rangers,"  calmly  decided  it  was  his  duty 
to  undertake  the  enterprise  upon  which  the  fate  of  the 
dejected  little  army  seemed  to  depend.  His  friends  sought 
him  in  vain  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose.  tk  I  desire 
to  be  useful,"  was  his  reply;  his  only  thought  seemed  to  be 
to  serve  his  country. 

His  fellow-officer  and  college  friend,  Captain  William 
Hull,  entreated  him  as  a  soldier  not  to  run  the  risk  of  his 
military  career  by  risking  the  ignominious  death  of  a  spy. 
Hale's  reply  to  his  friend's  argument  was  that  "  every 
kind  of  service  necessary  to  the  public  good  becomes  honor 
able  by  being  necessary." 

The  young  officer  presented  himself  to  General  Washing 
ton  as  a  volunteer  for  the  dangerous  service,  was  accepted, 
received  his  instructions,  and  disappeared  from  camp. 

He  passed  up  the  Connecticut  shore,  disguised  himself  as 
a  schoolmaster,  and  landed  upon  Long  Island.  He  visited 
all  the  British  camps  upon  Long  Island  and  in  New  York, 
and  made  drawings  of  the  fortifications,  writing  his  obser- 


Nathan  Hale  187 

vations  in  Latin,  and  hiding  them  between  the  soles  of  his 
shoes. 

He  had  been  about  two  weeks  within  the  British  lines, 
had  accomplished  his  purpose,  and  was  waiting  upon  the 
shore  at  Huntington,  Long  Island,  for  a  boat  that  was  to 
convey  him  to  Connecticut,  when  he  was  captured  —  hav 
ing  been  recognized  a  few  hours  previous  by  a  Tory  refugee. 
He  was  taken  aboard  a  British  man-of-war,  and  carried  to 
Sir  William  Howe's  headquarters  in  New  York  City.  Here 
he  was  condemned  to  be  executed  at  sunrise  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning. 

In  what  prison  or  guard-house  the  noble-souled  young 
patriot  spent  that  last  sad  night  of  his  life  is  not  known; 
but  of  the  brutality  with  which  he  was  treated  by  the 
provost  marshal,  into  whose  hands  he  was  given  over, 
there  is  abundant  proof.  His  request  for  the  attendance  of 
a  clergyman  was  refused.  Even  a  Bible  was  denied  him. 

During  the  preparations  for  the  execution,  an  English 
officer  obtained  permission  to  offer  the  prisoner  the  seclusion 
of  his  tent,  where  writing  materials  were  furnished. 

But  the  farewell  letters  he  wrote  to  his  mother,  to  his 
sweetheart,  and  to  a  comrade  in  the  army,  were  torn  to 
shreds  before  his  eyes  by  the  cruel  provost  marshal. 

It  was  early  dawn  on  Sunday  morning,  September  22, 
1776,  that  our  young  hero  was  hurried  away  from  the  tent 
of  the  English  officer  to  the  gallows.  The  spot  selected 
was  the  orchard  of  Colonel  Henry  Rutgers,  on  East  Broad 
way,  not  far  above  what  is  now  Franklin  Square. 

A  crowd  had  gathered,  many  of  whom  afterward  bore 
witness  to  the  noble  bearing  of  the  young  hero,  and  to 
the  barbarity  with  which  he  was  treated  by  the  provost 


l88     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

marshal.     This  officer  said :  "  The  rebels  shall  never  know 
they  have  a  man  who  can  die  with  such  firmness." 

As  Hale  was  about  to  ascend  the  fatal  scaffold,  he  stood 
for  a  moment  looking  upon  the  detachment  of  British  sol 
diers,  and  the  words  that  came  from  his  loyal  young  heart 
in  that  supreme  moment  will  never  die:  "  I  only  regret  that 
I  have  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country." 


The  capture  of  Nathan  Hale. 

It  is  not  known  in  what  spot  his  body  was  laid,  but  the 
bones  of  the  young  patriot  crumbled  to  dust  in  the  heart 
of  the  great  metropolis  of  the  republic  he  helped  to  found. 

So  long  as  love  of  country  is  cherished,  and  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  liberty  is  remembered,  so  long  will  the  name 
of  Nathan  Hale  shine  with  pure  and  undimmed  luster. 

The  birthplace  of  our  hero  is  in  the  town  of  Coventry, 


Nathan  Hale  189 

twenty  miles  east  of  Hartford  in  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
Upon  high  ground,  commanding  a  line  prospect,  stands  the 
large,  old-fashioned  farm-house  where  he  was  horn.  He 
was  the  sixth  of  twelve  children:  nine  sons  and  three 
daughters.  So  delicate  was  he  as  an  infant,  it  was  feared 
he  would  not  live;  but  when  he  became  a  lad,  exercise  in 
outdoor  sports,  of  which  he  was  very  fond,  gave  strength 
and  vigor  to  his  body. 

As  a  boy  he  \vas  famous  for  his  athletic  feats.  It  is  said 
he  excelled  all  his  fellows  in  running,  leaping,  wrestling, 
playing  ball,  and  shooting  at  a  mark.  When  a  student  at 
Yale  College  he  made  a  prodigious  leap  which  was  marked 
upon  the  Green  in  New  Haven,  and  often  pointed  out  long 
afterward.  Colonel  Green  of  New  London,  who  knew  him 
later  when  he  was  a  schoolmaster  in  that  town,  speaking  of 
Hale's  agility,  says :  "  He  would  put  his  hand  on  a  fence 
as  high  as  his  head  and  clear  it  at  a  single  bound ;  he  would 
jump  from  the  bottom  of  one  empty  hogshead  over  and 
down  into  a  second,  and  from  the  bottom  of  the  second 
over  and  down  into  a  third,  and  from  the  third  over  and 
out  like  a  cat." 

He  "  loved  the  gun  and  fishing-rod,  and  exhibited  great 
ingenuity  in  fashioning  juvenile  implements  of  every  sort." 
He  used  jokingly  to  boast  to  his  sisters  over  their  spinning- 
wheels,  that  he  "could  do  anything  but  spin!"  His 
bright  mind  was  quick  to  apply  what  he  learned. 

In  those  days  high  schools  were  unknown,  and  classical 
academies  were  confined  to  the  large  towns;  so  boys  of 
the  smaller  towns  who  sought  for  a  liberal  education  were 
prepared  for  college  by  the  ministers,  many  of  whom  were 
accomplished  scholars. 

Doctor  Joseph  Huntington,  the  minister  of  the  parish  in 


190    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

which  young  Hale  was  born,  "  was  considered  in  the 
churches  a  pattern  of  learning,"  and  from  him  Nathan  Hale 
and  two  brothers  received  their  preparation  for  college  — • 
being  intended  by  their  father  for  the  ministry.  Enoch  at 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  Nathan  at  fourteen,  entered  Yale 
College  together,  and  were  graduated  in  1773. 

Doctor  Eneas  Munson  of  New  Haven,  says  of  Nathan 
Hale  at  this  time :  "  He  was  almost  six  feet  in  height,  per 
fectly  proportioned,  and  in  figure  and  deportment  he  was 
the  most  manly  man  I  have  ever  met.  His  chest  was  broad ; 
his  muscles  firm;  his  face  wore  a  most  benign  expression; 
his  complexion  was  roseate;  his  eyes  were  light  blue,  and 
beamed  with  intelligence;  his  hair  was  soft  and  light  brown 
in  color ;  and  his  speech  was  rather  low,  sweet,  and  musical. 
His  personal  beauty  and  grace  of  manner  were  most  charm- 
ing.  .  .  ." 

At  his  graduation,  he  took  part  in  a  Latin  dispute  fol 
lowed  by  a  debate  upon  the  question,  "  Whether  the  edu 
cation  of  daughters  be  not,  without  any  just  reason,  more 
neglected  than  that  of  the  sons." 

A  classmate  wrote  of  this  debate :  "  Hale  was  triumphant. 
He  was  the  champion  of  the  daughters,  and  most  nobly 
advocated  their  cause." 

The  year  after  his  graduation  from  college,  he  taught 
school  in  the  town  of  East  Haddam. 

When  the  news  of  the  fight  at  Lexington  rang  through 
the  colonies,  Nathan  Hale  was  master  of  the  Union  Gram 
mar  School  in  New  London.  A  town  meeting'  was  at 
once  called,  at  which  the  young  schoolmaster  made  a  stir 
ring  speech.  "  Let  us  march  immediately,"  said  he,  "  and 
never  lay  down  our  arms  until  we  have  obtained  our  inde 
pendence." 


Nathan  Hale 


191 


The  young  teacher  gathered  his  school-boys  together, 
and,  after  giving  them  wise  counsel,  bade  them  an  affec 
tionate  good-by,  and  hurried  away  with  the  other  recruits  to 
Boston. 

He  was  soon  made  lieutenant  in  a  company  belonging 

r; 


The  execution  of  the  young  patriot. 

to  a  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Webb,  and  the  next 
year  he  was  put  in  command  of  a  company  of  a  famous 
corps  —  Knowlton's  Rangers,  known  as  "  Congress's  Own." 
One  of  the  last  letters  written  by  Captain  Hale  before 
starting  upon  his  perilous  mission  was  to  his  brother  Enoch. 
These  brothers  were  very  deeply  attached  to  each  other,  and 
the  grief  of  the  young  minister  Enoch  for  his  brother's 
tragic  fate  was  most  profound.  It  will  bring  the  young 


192     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

hero  nearer  to  children  of  to-day,  that  Enoch's  son,  Nathan, 
was  the  father  of  the  distinguished  author  of  our  time, 
Edward  Everett  Hale,  and  of  Lucretia  P.  Hale,  especially 
well  known  to  many  young  people  as  the  author  of  the 
"  Peterkin  Papers." 

When  Captain  Hale  departed  on  his  fatal  errand,  he  left 
his  uniform  and  camp  accoutrements  in  the  care  of  Asher 
Wright,  a  townsman  who  acted  in  the  capacity  of  a  servant 
to  the  young  officer.  Some  years  after  his  discharge  from 
the  service,  Asher  Wright  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
Conventry,  bearing  the  precious  relics:  the  camp  basket, 
the  camp  book,  and  the  tenderly-cared- for  uniform  of  the 
young  officer.  He  lived  to  extreme  old  age,  but  to  his 
latest  day  he  could  not  speak  without  tears  of  his  young 
master.  His  grave  is  in  .the  burial-ground  at  South  Coven 
try,  within  a  few  feet  of  those  of  the  Hale  family,  and 
near  the  granite  monument  erected  in  1846  to  the  memory 
of  the  "  Martyr  Spy  "  of  the  American  Revolution. 

President  Timothy  D wight  of  Yale  College,  grandfather 
of  the  present  President  of  the  University,  was  Nathan 
Hale's  college  tutor.  He  commemorated  Hale's  career  in  a 
poem,  highly  praising  the  character  and  qualities  of  his 
former  student. 

Four  years  after  the  execution  of  Captain  Hale,  Major 
Andre  was  captured  within  the  American  lines ;  it  was  Major 
Benjamin  Tallmadge,  a  college  classmate  and  dear  friend 
of  Nathan  Hale's,  who  conducted  Andre  to  Washington's 
headquarters ;  and  on  the  way  thither  Andre  talked  of 
Hale  and  his  fate. 

La  Fayette,  in  his  memoirs,  speaking  of  these  two  young 
officers,  says: 


Nathan  Hale  193 

"  Captain  Hale  of  Connecticut,  a  distinguished  young  man, 
beloved  by  his  family  and  friends,  had  been  taken  on  Long  Island 
under  circumstances  of  the  same  kind  as  those  that  occasioned  the 
death  of  Major  Andre;  but  instead  of  being  treated  with  the  like 
respect,  to  which  Major  Andre  himself  bore  testimony,  Captain 
Hale  was  insulted  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life..  '  This  is  a  fine 
death  for  a  soldier !  '  said  one  of  the  English  officers  who  were 
surrounding  the  cart  of  execution.  '  Sir/  replied  Hale,  lifting  up 
his  cap,  '  there  is  no  death  which  would  not  be  rendered  noble 
in  such  a  glorious  cause  ! ' ' 

A  fine  bronze  monument  to  the  memory  of  Nathan  Hale 
is  in  the  vestibule  of  the  State  Capitol,  Hartford,  Connecti 
cut.  It  was  erected  in  1887,  a  large  sum  of  money  being 
voted  toward  its  cost  by  the  State  of  Connecticut.  It 
bears  the  inscription : 

CAPTAIN  NATHAN  HALE 

1776 
BORN  AT  COVENTRY 

June  6,  1755 

BURIED  AT  NEW  YORK. 
Sept.  22,   1776 

"  I  ONLY  REGRET  THAT  I   HAVE  BUT   ONE  LIFE 
TO    LOSE   FOR    MY    COUNTRY." 

But  it  is  most  fitting  that  the  latest  monument  to  his 
memory  should  stand  in  the  city  of  New  York  near  the 

spot  where  he  suffered  death  for  his  country. 
13 


LA  FAYETTE 
BY  MRS.  EUGENIA  M.  HODGE 

One  hundred  and  twenty-eight  years  ago,  in  the  month 
of  February,  1777,  a  young  French  guardsman  ran  away 
to  sea. 

And  a  most  singular  running  away  it  was.  He  did  not 
wish  to  be  a  sailor,  but  he  was  so  anxious  to  go  that  he 
bought  a  ship  to  run  away  in, —  for  he  was  a  very  wealthy 
young  man;  and  though  he  was  only  nineteen,  he  held  a 
commission  as  major-general  in  the  armies  of  a  land  three 
thousand  miles  away  —  a  land  he  had  never  seen  and  the 
language  of  which  he  could  not  speak.  The  King  of 
France  commanded  him  to  remain  at  home;  his  friends  and 
relatives  tried  to  restrain  him ;  and  even  the  representatives, 
or  agents,  of  the  country  in  defense  of  which  he  desired  to 
fight  would  not  encourage  his  purpose.  And  when  the 
young  man,  while  dining  at  the  house  of  the  British  Am 
bassador  to  France,  openly  avowed  his  sympathy  with  a 
downtrodden  people,  and  his  determination  to  help  them 
gain  their  freedom,  the  Ambassador  acted  quickly.  At  his 
request,  the  rash  young  enthusiast  was  arrested  by  the 
French  Government,  and  orders  were  given  to  seize  his 
ship,  which  was  awaiting  him  at  Bordeaux.  But  ship  and 
owner  both  slipped  away,  and  sailing  from  the  port  of 
Pasajes  in  Spain,  the  runaway,  with  eleven  chosen  com 
panions,  was  soon  on  the  sea,  bound  for  America,  and  be 
yond  the  reach  of  both  friends  and  foes. 

194 


La  Fayette 


195 


On  April  25,  1777,  he  landed  at  the  little  port  of  George 
town,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Pee  Dee  River  in  South 
Carolina;  and  from  that  day  forward  the  career  of  Marie 
Jean  Paul  Roch  Yves  Gilbert 
Motier,  Marquis  de  La  Fay 
ette,  has  held  a  place  in  the 
history  of  America,  and  in 
the  interest  and  affection  of 
the  American  people. 

When  he  first  arrived  in 
the  land  for  which  he  desired 
to  fight,  however,  he  found 
hut  a  cool  reception.  The 
Congress  of  the  United  States 
was  poor,  and  so  many  good 
and  brave  American  officers 
who  had  proved  their  worth 
were  desirous  of  commissions 
as  major-generals,  that  the 
commission  promised  to  this 
young  Frenchman  could  not 
easily  be  put  in  force  so  far 
as  an  actual  command  and  a 
salary  were  concerned. 

But  the  young  general  had  come  across  the  sea, for  a 
purpose,  and  money  and  position  were  not  parts  of  that 
purpose.  He  expressed  his  desire  to  serve  in  the  American 
army  upon  two  very  singular  conditions,  namely;  that  he 
should  receive  no  pay,  and  that  he  should  act  as  a  volunteer. 
The  Congress  was  so  impressed  with  the  enthusiasm  and 
self-sacrifice  of  the  young  Frenchman  that,  on  July  31, 
1777,  it  passed  a  resolution  directing  that  "  his  services  be 


Statue  of  La  Fayette,  by  A.  Bar- 
tholdi,  Union  Square,  New 
York  City. 


196     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

accepted  and  that,  in  consideration  of  his  zeal,  illustrious 
family  and  connections,  he  have  the  rank  and  commission 
of  a  Major-General  of  the  United  States." 

George  Washington  was  greatly  attracted  by  the  energy 
and  earnestness  of  the  young  nobleman.  He  took  him  into 
what  was  called  his  "  military  family,"  assigned  him  to 
special  and  honorable  duty;  and  when  the  young  volunteer 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Brandyw7ine,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  praised  his  "  bravery  and  military  ardor  "  so  highly 
that  the  Congress  gave  La  Fayette  the  command  of  a  divi 
sion.  Thus,  before  he  was  twenty,  he  \vas  actually  a  gen 
eral,  and  already,  as  one  historian  says,  he  had  "  justified 
the  boyish  rashness  which  his  friends  deplored  and  his 
sovereign  resented,  and  had  acquired  a  place  in  history." 

Notwithstanding  General  Washington's  assertion  to 
Congress  that  La  Fayette  had  made  "  great  proficiency  in 
our  language,"  the  young  marquis's  pronunciation  of  Eng 
lish  was  far  from  perfect.  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian 
were  all  familiar  to  him,  but  his  English  was  not  readily 
understood  by  the  men  he  was  called  upon  to  command. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  find  as  his  aide-de-camp  one 
who  could  quickly  interpret  the  orders  of  his  command 
ing  officer. 

Such  an  aid  was  at  last  found  in  the  person  of  a  certain 
young  Connecticut  adjutant  on  the  regimental  staff  of 
dashing  Brigadier-General  Wayne, — "  Mad  Anthony  " 
Wayne,  the  hero  of  Stony  Point. 

This  young  adjutant  was  of  almost  the  same  age  as  La 
Fayette;  he  had  received,  what  was  rare  enough  in  those 
days,  an  excellent  college  education,  and  he  was  said  to  be 
the  only  man  in  the  American  army  who  could  speak 
French  and  English  equally  well. 


La  Fayette  197 

These  young  men,  General  La  Fayette  and  his  aid,  grew 
very  fond  of  each  other  during  an  intimate  acquaintance  of 
nearly  seven  years.  The  French  marquis,  with  that  over 
flow  of  spirits  and  outward  demonstration  so  noticeable  in 
most  Frenchmen,  freely  showed  his  affection  for  the  more 
reserved  American  —  often  throwing  his  arms  around  his 
neck,  kissing  him  upon  the  cheek  and  calling  him  "  My 
brave,  my  good,  my  virtuous,  my  adopted  brother !  " 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  which  occurred  on  June 
28,  1778,  and  in  which  La  Fayette's  command  was  engaged 
against  the  British  forces,  who  were  routed,  the  marquis 
was  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  the  gallant  conduct  of  his 
friend  and  aid.  Not  content  with  this,  he  sent  to  him  some 
years  after,  when  the  aid-de-camp,  then  a  colonel  in  rank, 
was  elected  to  political  honors,  the  following  acrostic,  as  a 
souvenir,  expressive  of  the  esteem  and  remembrance  of  his 
former  commander.  The  initial  letters  of  each  line  of  the 
poem  will  spell  out  for  you  the  name  of  this  soldier  friend 
of  La  Fayette.  And  here  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  acrostic 
and  of  the  postscript  that  accompanied  it : 

Sage  of  the  East !  where  wisdom  rears  her  head, 
Augustus,  taught  in  virtue's  path  to  tread, 
'Mid  thousands  of  his  race,  elected  stands 
Unanimous  to  legislative  bands ; 
Endowed  with  every  art  to  frame  just  laws, 
Learns  to  hate  vice,  to  virtue  gives  applause. 

Augustus,  oh,  thy  name  that 's  ever  dear 
Unrivaled    stands   to   crown   each   passing  year ! 
Great  are  the   virtues   that   exalt  thy  mind. 
Unenvied  merit  marks  thy  worth  refined. 
Sincerely  rigid  for  your  country's  right, 
To  save  her  Liberty  you  deigned  to  fight; 


198     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Undaunted  courage  graced  your  manly  brow, 
Secured  such  honors  as  the  gods  endow. — 

Bright  is  the  page;  the  record  of  thy  days 
Attracts   my  muse   thus   to   rehearse   thy   praise. 
Rejoice  then,   patriots,   statesmen,   all   rejoice ! 
Kindle  his  praises  with  one  general  voice ! 
Emblazon  out  his  deeds,  his  virtues  prize, 
Reiterate  his  praises  to  the  skies! 

M.  D.  LA  FAYETTE. 

P.S. —  The  Colonel  will  readily  apologize  for  the  inaccuracies 
of  an  unskillful  muse,  and  be  convinced  the  high  estimation  of  his 
amiable  character  could  alone  actuate  the  author  of  the  foregoing. 

M.  D.  LA  FAYETTE. 


So  the  name  of  the  young  general's  friend  and  aide-de 
camp  was  Samuel  Augustus  Barker. 

Years  passed.  The  Revolution  was  over.  America  was 
free.  The  French  Revolution,  with  all  its  horrors  and  suc 
cesses,  had  made  France  a  republic.  Napoleon  had  risen, 
conquered,  ruled,  fallen,  and  died,  and  the  first  quarter  of 
the  nineteenth  century  was  nearly  completed,  when,  in 
August,  1824,  an  old  French  gentleman  who  had  been  an 
active  participant  in  several  of  these  historic  scenes  arrived 
in  New  York.  It  was  General  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette, 
now  a  veteran  of  nearly  seventy,  returning  to  America  as 
the  honored  guest  of  the  growing  and  prosperous  republic 
he  had  helped  to  found. 

His  journey  through  the  land  was  like  a  triumph.  Flow 
ers  and  decorations  brightened  his  path,  cheering  people 
and  booming  cannon  welcomed  his  approach.  And  in  one 
of  those  welcomings,  in  a  little  village  in  central  New 
York,  a  cannon,  which  was  heavily  loaded  for  a  salute  in 


La  Fayette  199 

honor  of  the  nation's  guest,  exploded,  and  killed  a  plucky 
young  fellow  who  had  volunteered  to  "  touch  of! "  the 
overcharged  gun  when  no  one  else  dared.  Some  months 
after,  the  old  marquis  chanced  to  hear  of  the  tragedy,  and 
at  once  his  sympathies  were  aroused  for  the  widowed 
mother  of  the  young  man. 

He  at  once  wrote  to  the  son  of  the  man  who  had  been 
his  comrade  in  arms  in  the  Revolutionary  days  half  a  cen 
tury  before,  asking  full  information  concerning  the  fatal 
accident,  and  the  needs  of  the  mother  of  the  poor  young 
man  who  was  killed ;  and  having  thus  learned  all  the  facts, 
sent  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  relieve  the  mother's 
necessities  and  to  pay  off  the  mortgage  on  her  little  home. 

I  have  before  me,  as  I  write,  the  original  letter  written 
by  the  General  to  the  son  of  his  old  friend,  the  paper 
marked  and  yellow  with  the  creases  of  many  years;  and 
as  I  read  it  again,  I  feel  that  of  all  the  incidents  of  the 
singularly  eventful  life  of  La  Fayette  there  are  none  that 
show  his  noble  nature  more  fully  than  those  I  have  noted 
here:  his  enthusiastic  services  in  behalf  of  an  oppressed 
people,  his  close  and  devoted  affection  for  his  friend  and 
comrade,  and  the  impulsive  generosity  of  a  heart  that  was 
at  once  manly,  tender,  and  true. 

And  as  I  \vrite,  I  am  grateful  that  I  can  claim  a  certain 
association  with  that  honored  name  of  La  Fayette;  for  the 
young  adjutant  to  whom  the  acrostic  was  addressed  and  the 
friend  through  whom  the  gift  to  the  widow  was  communi 
cated  were  respectively  my  grandfather  and  my  father. 

It  is  at  least  pleasant  to  know  that  one's  ancestors  were 
the  intimate  friends  of  so  noble  a  man,  of  whom  one 
biographer  has  recently  said :  "  He  was  brave  even  to  rash 
ness,  his  life  was  one  of  constant  peril,  and  yet  he  never 


2OO     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


shrank  from  any  danger  or  responsibility  if  he  saw  the 
way  open  to  spare  life  or  suffering,  to  protect  the  defense 
less,  to  sustain  law  and  preserve  order." 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  Union  Square,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  there  is  a  bronze  statue  of  La  Fayette.  It 
represents  him  in  graceful  pose  and  with  earnest  face  and 
gesture,  "  making  offer  of  his  sword  to  the  country  he  ad 
mired —  the  country  that  sorely  needed  his  aid.  The  left 
hand  is  extended  as  if  in  greeting  and  friendly  self-sur 
render,  and  the  right 
hand,  which  holds 
the  sword,  is  pressed 
against  the  breast, 
as  if  implying  that 
his  whole  heart  goes 
with  his  sword." 
La  Fayette's  words, 
"  As  soon  as  I  heard 
of  American  inde 
pendence,  my  heart 
was  enlisted,"  are 
inscribed  upon  the 
pedestal  of  the 
statue ;  and  a  short 
distance  from  it,  in 
the  plaza  adjoining 
the  square,  is  an 
equestrian  statue  of 
Washington.  It  is 
fitting  that  the  bronze  image  of  those  two  great  men  should 
thus  be  placed  together,  as  the  names  of  Washington  and 
La  Fayette  are  coupled  in  the  affections  of  the  people. 


The  statue  of  La  Fayette  given  to  the 
French  people  by  American  school-chil 
dren,  courtyard  of  the  Louvre,  Paris, 
France. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Being  an  account  of  our  first  envoy  to  the  Court 
of  France,  1776-1785 

BY  H.  A.  OGDEN 

When  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  stood  before  the  monarch 
of  France  in  1778,  it  must  have  seemed  to  him  the  exact 
fulfilment  of  a  prophecy;  for  it  is  said  that,  when  a  poor 
little  boy,  his  father  used  to  repeat  to  him  Solomon's  prov 
erb  :  "  Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  business  ?  he  shall 
stand  before  kings." 

Of  course,  like  most  remarkable  events  that  happen  in 
this  world,  it  seemed  to  come  about  very  naturally.  After 
the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  first 
great  step  toward  making  us  a  free  people,  Congress  de 
cided  to  send  a  special  envoy  to  the  French  court,  in  order 
to  enlist  their  aid  in  our  struggle  for  freedom. 

Their  choice  fell  on  their  ablest  and  most  patriotic  mem 
ber —  upon  him  who  had  been  one  of  the  originators  of 
the  Declaration,  and  who,  on  signing  his  name,  made  the 
witty  remark :  "  Now,  gentlemen,  we  must  hang  together,  if 
we  would  not  hang  separately." 

On  October  26,  1776,  with  his  two  grandsons,  William 
Temple  Franklin,  a  youth  of  seventeen,  and  little  Benjamin 
Franklin  Bache,  his  daughter's  boy,  of  seven,  the  old 
Doctor  set  sail  in  the  sloop-of-war  Reprisal,  one  of  the 
swiftest  craft  of  our  infant  navy. 

201 


202     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

He  was  then  over  seventy  years  of  age,  and  his  fame  as 
a  printer,  editor,  inventor,  philosopher,  and  statesman  ( for 
the  old  gentleman  was  a  many-sided  genius)  was  well  es 
tablished.  The  learned  societies  of  the  civilized  globe  were 
proud  to  enroll  his  name  among  their  members ;  the  French 
people,  from  the  nobles  down  to  the  servants,  all  were 
familiar  with  his  quaint  and  witty  sayings,  as  translated 
from  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,"  as  well  as  with  his  love 
of  liberty  and  his  broad  sympathy  with  his  fellow-men. 
Silas  Deane,  the  agent  of  the  American  Congress,  then 
living  in  Paris,  afterward  said,  "  Here  is  the  hero,  philoso 
pher,  and  patriot  who,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  risks  all 
dangers  for  his  country." 

To  show  that  the  enemy  fully  realized  his  power  as  an 
advocate  for  the  cause  of  independence,  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham,  one  of  King  George  the  Third's  advisers,  re 
marked  that  he  considered  "  the  presence  of  Dr.  Franklin 
at  the  French  court  more  than  a  balance  for  the  few  ad 
ditional  acres  which  the  English  had  gained  by  the  con 
quest  of  Manhattan  Island."  This  was  said  not  long  after 
the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  whereby  General  Howe  had  se 
cured  possession  of  New  York. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Paris,  the  Doctor  was  in 
vited  to  make  his  home  at  Passy,  then  one  of  the  little 
towns  outside  of  the  city,  although  now  it  is  inside  of  the 
fortifications.  Here,  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  river  Seine 
as  it  flows  past  villages,  chateaux,  and  palaces,  stood  the 
Mansion  Valentinois,  the  owner  of  which  insisted  on 
Franklin's  sharing  his  apartments  with  him  without  cost, 
saying,  "If  your  country  is  successful  in  the  war,  and  your 
Congress  will  grant  me  a  small  piece  of  land,  perhaps  I  may 
take  that  as  payment."  Wherever  the  Doctor  went,  crowds 


Benjamin  Franklin  203 

followed  him ;  he  was  cheered  in  the  streets  or  at  the  opera ; 
his  sayings  were  quoted;  and  engravings,  miniatures, 
medals,  snuff-box  lids,  and  souvenirs  were  made  to  bear  his 
kindly  features.  He  wrote  home  to  little  Benjamin's 
mother  that  they  had  "  made  her  father's  face  "  -  by  which, 
of  course,  he  meant  his  own — "  as  well  known  as  that  of 
the  moon." 

He  always  dressed  plainly;  and  his  hair,  which  was 
gray  and  quite  thin,  was  not  concealed  by  a  wig,  though 
he  often  wore  a  fur  cap,  pulled  down  nearly  to  his  spectacle- 
rims. 

Ignorant  people  whispered  that  he  was  a  wizard,  en 
gaged  in  separating  the  colonies  from  England  by  means  of 
his  magic  spells.  All  showed  their  admiration  of  his  at 
tainments;  but  amid  all  of  the  compliments  paid  him  and 
the  extravagant  attentions  he  received,  he  remained  the 
simple-minded,  plain  republican,  ever  keeping  in  mind  his 
country's  trials  and  her  need. 

The  court  of  France,  while  friendly  and  willing  to  aid  us 
as  it  could,  \vas  not  as  yet  ready  to  acknowledge  our  inde 
pendence,  and  by  so  doing  to  provoke  a  conflict  with  Great 
Britain.  The  war,  thus  far,  had  gone  against  us;  news  of 
the  one  bright  ray  in  the  gloom  —  Washington's  victory  at 
Trenton  —  had  taken  five  months  to  reach  France,  so  diffi 
cult  was  it  to  escape  from  the  British  cruisers  watching  our 
coasts. 

Some  muskets  and  a  private  loan  of  $400,000  were  se 
cured,  and  single  volunteers  were  plenty.  To  fight  for 
America  became  with  the  young  French  nobles  what  now 
adays  we  should  call  a  "  fad."  Franklin  was  besieged  by 
requests  to  be  officers  in  our  army,  or  for  letters  of  recom 
mendation  to  Congress,  and  he  was  at  his  wits'  end  to  re- 


204     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


fuse  with  kindness,  so  that  he  should  not  make  promises  of 
rank  that  he  could  not  fulfil. 

During  this   winter   of   darkness    for   freedom's   cause, 
Franklin  must  play  his  part  in  the  gay  world  of   Paris. 


?. ' 


Franklin  and  his  young  relatives  in  the  streets  of  Paris. 

To  make  friends  for  our  country  was  his  constant  aim ;  her 
enemies  he  defied,  and  everywhere  he  expressed  his  cer 
tainty  of  the  final  triumph  of  America  in  the  struggle. 

We  have  all  heard  of  the  phrase,  "  These  are  the  times 
that  try  men's  souls."  These  words  were  used  at  just  this 
time  by  Thomas  Paine,  who  wrote  a  series  of  articles  on  the 


Benjamin  Franklin  205* 

American  war.  For,  while  it  was  dark  indeed  on  our  side 
of  the  ocean,  it  seemed  also  as  if  no  nation  abroad  would 
help  us.  Franklin  sent  his  associates,  Lee  and  Deane,  to 
the  courts  of  Spain  and  Prussia  for  aid,  but  neither  was 
disposed  to  take  the  first  step. 

Diplomacy  among  nations  is  often  a  tedious  and  selfish 
proceeding.  Meanwhile  the  Doctor  did  what  he  could  to 
ward  arming  ships  and  making  easier  the  lot  of  prisoners 
of  war -abroad.  As  to  the  ships,  he  was  somewhat  success 
ful,  and  was  gratified  by  his  success;  for  he  was  eager  to 
give  England  some  of  the  treatment  the  colonies  had  re 
ceived  from  her  men-of-war. 

All  of  these  matters  kept  the  envoy  very  busy  —  so 
much  so,  that  his  grandson  Temple  was  obliged  to  act  as 
his  secretary,  and  the  idea  of  his  going  to  a  university  was 
given  up.  At  last  came  the  sunshine  through  the  clouds, 
for  the  wise  Providence  that  guides  the  affairs  of  nations 
'as  well  as  of  men  brought  about  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne 
and  his  army  in  October,  1/77,  after  the  battle  of  Saratoga. 

The  news  was  despatched  with  all  haste  to  our  represen 
tatives  abroad.  Massachusetts  sent  the  glad  tidings  by 
special  messenger,  a  young  Mr.  Austin.  Before  his  depar 
ture,  a  prayer  was  offered  from  the  pulpit  of  a  church  in 
Boston  —  the  minister,  it  is  said,  being  so  absorbed  in  pray 
ing  especially  that  the  despatches  might  be  delivered  that  he 
made  no  mention  of  the  messenger! 

In  a  little  over  a  month,  however,  both  messenger  and 
packet  arrived  in  Paris,  and  the  scene  when  he  drove  into 
the  courtyard  of  the  Hotel  Valentinois  was  a  memorable 
one. 

Our  representatives  had  received  word  of  his  landing, 
but  knew  nothing  of  the  nature  of  his  news.  As  the  chaise 


206     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

dashed  up  to  the  group  around  the  door,  and  the  messenger 
alighted,  Dr.  Franklin  grasped  his  hand,  exclaiming : 

"  Sir,  is  Philadelphia  taken?" 

"  Yes,  sir/'  was  Austin's  reply. 

Then  the  old  statesman  wrung  his  hands  in  disappoint 
ment  and  had  begun  to  return  in  sadness  to  the  house  when 
the  messenger  cried : 

"  But,  sir,  I  have  greater  news  than  that!  General  Btir- 
goyne  and  his  whole  army  are  prisoners  of  war!  " 

Temple  carried  the  news  to  the  French  prime  minister,  the 
Comte  de  Vergennes,  and  a  few  days  later  a  private  inter 
view  took  place  at  Versailles. 

About  a  year  from  the  landing  of  Franklin  on  the  coast 
of  France,  his  errand  to  that  nation  was  accomplished.  She 
became  the  ally  of  the  American  colonies,  and  thus  was  the 
first  to  welcome  the  United  States  into  the  circle  of  nations. 

A  main  condition  of  the  treaty  was  that  we  should  not 
make  peace  with  Great  Britain  unless  our  independence  was 
recognized  —  a  condition  to  which  our  representatives 
gladly  agreed. 

Our  new  ally's  first  act  was  to  send  a  frigate  carrying  M. 
Gerard,  a  special  envoy  to  Congress,  with  tidings  of  the 
treaty.  He  was  received  with  great  honor,  and  joy  filled 
all  patriot  hearts.  On  February  6,  1778,  the  treaty  was 
officially  signed  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  Silas  Deane,  and 
Arthur  Lee,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  The  signing 
was  followed  by  the  important  ceremony  of  being  received 
by  the  King  in  person.  As  no  one  in  those  days  ever 
thought  of  being  presented  to  a  monarch  of  France  with  his 
head  uncovered  by  a  wig,  Dr.  Franklin  ordered  one  for  the 
occasion.  The  hair-dresser,  or  perruquier,  as  he  was  called, 
brought  the  all-important  article,  and  proceeded  to  try  it  on ; 


Benjamin  Franklin  207 

but  try  as  he  would,  he  could  n't  force  it  down  over  Frank 
lin's  head.     After  several  trials,  the  Doctor  said: 

"  Perhaps  it  is  too  small !  "  Dashing  the  wig  to  the  floor 
in  a  rage,  the  perruquier  cried,  "  It  is  impossible,  monsieur ! 
No,  monsieur!  it  is  not  that  the  wig  is  too  small;  it  is  that 
your  head  is  too  large !  " 

As  there  was  no  time  to  remedy  the  misfit,  the  Doctor 
(Jecided  to  go  before  the  King  without  a  wig.  Therefore 
it  was  without  a  wig,  or  even  a  sword, —  considered  an  in 
dispensable  article  of  a  gentleman's  dress  in  those  days, — 
but  in  a  plain  black  velvet  suit,  with  ruffles  at  the  neck  and 
wrists,  white  silk  stockings,  and  silver-buckled  shoes,  that 
our  great  republican  drove  to  the  palace  of  Versailles.  On 
the  morning  of  the  2Oth  of  March,  1778,  accompanied  by 
his  fellow-envoys  Dr.  Franklin  was  ushered  into  the  pres 
ence  of  his  majesty  King  Louis  XVI  of  France.  After  the 
formal  introduction,  the  monarch  expressed  himself  as  well 
disposed  toward  his  new  ally,  and  gracefully  complimented 
the  tact  that  Franklin  had  displayed  during  his  sojourn  in 
the  capital  and  among  the  French  people. 

In  the  evening,  during  the  games  that  the  court  were  en 
gaged  in,  the  Queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  conversed  with 
Franklin  in  her  own  charming  and  gracious  manner.  His 
wit,  fascinating  conversation,  and  sound  common  sense  at 
tracted  the  admiration  of  the  gay  and  frivolous  court,  and 
he  was  lionized  by  all. 

At  a  brilliant  fete  given  in  his  honor,  he  was  crowned 
writh  laurel  by  one  of  three  hundred  young  ladies.  The  old 
statesman  accepted  all  these  attentions  modestly,  considering 
them  as  offered,  through  him,  to  his  native  land. 

During  the  rest  of  his  visit  to  France,  Franklin's  life  was 
filled  with  solicitude  for  his  native  land;  but  now,  bv  the 


208     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

authority  of  the  French  king,  armies  and  fleets  were  sent, 
by  the  help  of  which  we  were  finally  able  to  capture  Corn- 
wallis  and  secure  our  independence. 

At  length,  weary  and  ill,  Franklin  asked  for  his  recall; 
he  had  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  with  England,  thus  crown 
ing  his  mission  with  success.  So  in  March,  1785,  after 
nearly  nine  years'  residence  abroad,  Congress  was  pleased  to 
declare  that  "  the  Honorable  Benjamin  Franklin,  Esquire, 
was  permitted  to  return  to  America." 


PAUL  JONES 
BY  MOLLY  ELLIOT  SEAWELL 

"  Traitor,  if  you  will,  was  Monsieur  John  Paul  Jones,  aft 
erward  Knight  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty's  Order  of 
Merit  —  but  a  braver  traitor  never  wore  sword." 

Such  were  almost  the  last  words  traced  by  the  hand  of 
Thackeray,  and  they  show  the  astonishing  misconception  of 
Paul  Jones  which  prevailed  in  the  mind  of  one  of  the  justest 
men  that  ever  lived.  Washington  was  a  hero  even  to  his 
enemies ;  yet  Washington  had  actually  held  a  commission  in 
the  British  army,  while  Paul  Jones  could  say  proudly  to 
the  American  Congress  at  the  close  of  the  war:  "I  have 
never  borne  arms  under  any  but  the  American  flag,  nor 
have  I  ever  borne  or  acted  under  any  commission  but  that 
of  the  Congress  of  America."  This  singular  distinction 
against  Paul  Jones  extended  to  tne  whole  of  the  feeble  naval 
force  of  the  colonies.  Soldiers  were  treated  from  the  be 
ginning  as  prisoners  of  war,  while  until  Paul  Jones  forced 
an  exchange  of  prisoners  upon  equal  terms,  American  sailors 
were  formally  declared  to  be  "  traitors,  pirates  and  felons." 

Let  this  "  traitor,  pirate  and  felon  "  enumerate  his  services 
in  his  own  words : 

In  1775  J.  Paul  Jones  armed  and  embarked  in  the  first  American 
ship  of  war.  In  the  Revolution  he  had  twenty-three  battles  and 
solemn  rencountres  by  sea ;  made  seven  descents  in  Britain  and 
her  Colonies ;  took  of  her  navy  two  ships  of  equal  and  two  of 
far  superior  force,  many  store  ships  and  others;  constrained  her 
14  209 


21O     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

to  fortify  her  ports;  suffer  the  Irish  volunteers;  desist  from  her 
cruel  burnings  in  America,  and  exchange  as  prisoners  of  war,  the 
American  citizens  taken  on  the  ocean,  and  cast  into  prisons  in 
England  as  traitors,  pirates  and  felons ! 

In  his  perilous  situation  in  Holland  his  conduct  drew  the  Dutch 
into  the  war,  and  eventually  abridged  the  Revolution.  Congress 
bestowed  on  him  the  following  honors:  The  thanks  of  the  United 
States,  April  14,  1781 ;  election  as  first  officer  of  the  navy,  June 
26,  1781 ;  a  gold  medal  October  16,  1787.  This  last  favor  was 
granted  to  only  six  officers:  ist,  General  Washington,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  for  the  taking  of  Boston.  2nd,  General  Gates, 
for  taking  the  army  of  Burgoyne.  3rd,  General  Wayne,  for  tak 
ing  Rocky  Point,  of  which  the  garrison  was  much  stronger  than 
the  assailants.  4th,  General  Morgan,  for  having  cut  down  and 
destroyed  eleven  hundred  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  best  troops 
of  England,  with  nine  hundred  men,  solely  militia.  5th,  Gen 
eral  Green,  for  having  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  the  enemy 
at  Eutaw  Springs. 

But  all  these  medals,  although  well  merited,  were  given  in  mo 
ments  of  enthusiasm.  He  had  the  satisfaction  solely  to  receive 
the  same  honor,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  United  States 
assembled  in  Congress,  the  i6th  of  October,  1787,  in  memory  of 
services  which  he  had  rendered  eight  years  before. 

Besides  Thackeray  in  England,  Cooper  in  America  and 
Halevy  and  Dumas  in  France  have  taken  Paul  Jones  as  a 
hero  of  splendid  romance.  He  \vas  a  true  as  well  as  a  ro 
mantic  hero,  however.  If  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson, 
La  Fayette,  Adams,  and  Morris  are  to  be  believed,  he  was  a 
man  of  lofty  character  and  true  patriotism. 

The  two  war-ships  taken  by  Paul  Jones  were  scarcely 
felt  by  mighty  England,  with  her  six  hundred  fighting  ships. 
But  the  wound  to  the  honor  of  the  greatest  and  proudest  of 
nations  was  deeply  felt,  and  was  earnestly  sought  to  be 
avenged.  In  a  feeble  ship  he  twice  cruised  up  and  down 
the  narrow  seas  of  the  greatest  naval  power  on  earth,  rais- 


Paul  Jones 


211 


ing  her  coasts  as  had  not  been  done  since  the  days  of  the 
Spanish  Armada,  threatening  her  northern  capital,  landing 
whenever  and  wherever  he  liked,  burning  her  shipping,  and 
capturing  the  only  two  war-ships  that  came  within  hail  of 
him  —  ships  manned  by  the  hardy  sailors  of  the  Mistress  of 
the  Seas.  Until  then  England  had  made  good  her  proud 
boast : 

And  not  a  sail  but  by  permission  spreads. 


flag 


this   boast   was   no 


After   Paul    Jones   hoisted   his 
longer  good. 

In  his  twenty-seventh  year  a  great  and  fortunate  change 
occurred  to  him.  His  brother  William,  who  had  emigrated 
to  Virginia  and  died  there,  left  him  an  estate.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  Paul  Jones  was  often  afterward  in  want  of 


The  Bonhommc  Richard  and  the  Serapis. 


212     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

ready  money;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  everybody 
was  in  want  of  ready  money  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Certain  it  is,  from  his  papers 
preserved  at  Washington,  that 
he  might  be  considered  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  a  man  of 
independent  fortune. 

On  December  22,  1775,  was 
made  the  beginning  of  the 
American  navy;  and  from  this 
point  the  true  history  of  Paul 
Jones  begins.  He  was  then 
twenty-eight  years  old,  of  the 
middle  height,  his  figure  slight, 
but  graceful,  and  of  "  a  dash 
ing  and  officer-like  appear- 
jance."  His  complexion  was  dark  and  weather-beaten; 
his  black  eyes  very  expressive,  but  melancholy. 

His  first  duty  was  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Alfred,  Com 
modore  Hopkins's  flag-ship.  On  this  vessel  he  hoisted  for 
the  first  time  the  original  flag  of  the  Revolution  —  the  rat 
tlesnake  flag.  In  a  letter  to  Robert  Morris  in  1783,  Paul 
Jones  says : 

It  was  my  fortune,  as  the  Senior  of  the  First  Lieutenants,  to 
hoist,  myself,  the  Flag  of  America  (I  Choose  to  do  it  with  my 
own  Hands)  the  first  time  it  was  displayed.  Though  this  was 
but  a  light  circumstance,  yet,  I  feel  for  it's  Honor  more  than  I 
think  I  should  have  felt  had  it  not  so  happened. 

There  was  great  confusion  in  the  tables  of  rank  first 
adopted  in  the  navy,  and  thence  proceeded  a  grievance  that 
Paul  Jones  never  ceased  to  protest  against  bitterly,  until  in 
1781,  many  years  afterward,  he  became,  by  the  unanimous 


Paul  Jones  213 

election  of  Congress,  the  ranking  officer  of  the  American 
navy. 

As  Paul  Jones  had  been  the  first  to  raise  the  original  flag 
of  the  Revolution,  so  he  was  the  first  to  raise  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  over  a  ship  of  war  —  the  Ranger.  This 
occurred  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  the  autumn 
of  1777. 

On  November  14  he  sailed  for  France,  being  recom 
mended  to  the  American  commissioners  at  Paris  by  the 
Marine  Committee  as  "  an  active  and  brave  commander  in 
our  service." 

From  the  beginning  of  his  acquaintance  with  Franklin  a 
mutual  respect  and  a  deep  affection  sprung  up  between  them. 
The  wise  Franklin  saw  at  a  glance  what  manner  of  man 
Paul  Jones  was,  and  in  one  noble  sentence  described  him 
better  than  many  volumes  could :  "  For  Captain  Paul  Jones 
ever  loved  close  fighting." 

Paul  Jones  foresaw  the  use  of  torpedoes,  and  experi 
mented  boldly  with  very  primitive  ones.  He  understood  as 
fully  as  a  great  contemporary  writer  the  "  influence  of  sea 
power  upon  history,"  and  wrote,  a  century  and  a  quarter 
ago :  "  In  time  of  Peace,  it  is  necessary  to  prepare,  and 
to  be  always  prepared  for  War  by  Sea."  He  advocated  the 
establishment  of  a  naval  academy,  and  a  supplementary 
course  for  officers  closely  resembling  the  Naval  War  Col 
lege,  and  advocated  the  constant  study  and  practice  of  fleet 
evolutions.  This  was  in  the  days  when  Britannia  ruled  the 
waves  with  a  vengeance,  but  without  "  tactic."  In  his  ad 
miration  for  this  fascinating  part  of  his  profession,  Paul 
Jones  certainly  underrated  the  British;  but  when  he  came 
to  fight  them,  he  showed  them,  in  his  preparations,  every 
mark  of  respect. 


214      lhe  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

There  exists,  in  his  own  handwriting,  a  complete  list 
of  every  ship  of  every  kind  in  the  British  navy,  when  built, 
where  built,  and  by  whom  built,  with  the  names,  rates, 
dimensions,  men,  guns,  and  draft  of  water;  also  the  num 
ber  of  boats  of  every  kind  attached  to  them.  It  is  sup 
posed  he  had  secret  correspondence  with  some  person  high 
in  the  British  admiralty  to  have  secured  this. 

Paul  Jones  spent  some  weary  months  at  Brest  in  a  vain 
effort  to  get  a  better  ship  than  the  Ranger.  He  improved 
her  very  much,  for  his  practical  knowledge  of  ships  was 
great;  but  still,  as  he  wrote  Franklin,  "  the  Ranger  is  crank, 
sails  slow  and  is  of  trifling  force."  Nothing  better  was 
to  be  had  for  him,  and  many  years  after  he  wrote:  "  Will 
posterity  believe  that  the  Sloop  of  war  Ranger  was  the  best 
I  was  ever  enabled  by  my  country  to  bring  into  active 
service?  " 

Having  determined  to  traverse  the  British  seas  in  his  lit 
tle  vessel,  while  d'Orvilliers,  with  his  huge  fleet,  stayed  at 
home  and  evolved  tactics,  Paul  Jones  was  offered  a  cap 
tain's  commission  in  the  French  navy,  the  alliance  between 
France  and  the  United  States  being  then  consummated. 
This  he  promptly  declined;  and  on  an  April  evening  he 
picked  up  his  anchor  and  steered  straight  for  the  Irish  Sea. 
He  had  lost  many  of  his  crew  by  desertions,  and  the  ship 
was  worse  manned  and  no  better  officered  than  when  he 
left  America. 

Then  began  a  long  series  of  promises  and  disappointments 
about  ships  and  prize-money.  The  last  was  of  great  conse 
quence,  as  without  it  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  a 
crew.  The  French  court  made  much  of  Paul  Jones,  and 
the  Due  de  Chartres,  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  and  others 
with  high-sounding  names,  were  eager  to  enlist  with  him, 


Paul  Jones  215 

especially  La  Fayette,  who  became  very  intimate  with  him. 
But  no  ship  was  forthcoming.  Franklin  had  the  good  will, 
but  no  money.  Paul  Jones  wrote  letters  to  everybody  in 
power  at  Paris,  even  the  king  himself,  begging  for  any 
sort  of  a  ship.  At  last  —  it  is  said  taking  Franklin's  ad 
vice  in  "  Poor  Richard's  Almanac  "  :  "If  you  would  have 
your  business  done,  go.  If  not,  send  "  -he  went  to  Paris, 
and  the  result  was  that  he  was  put  in  command  of  the  most1 
extraordinary  squadron  ever  seen,  under  the  most  extra 
ordinary  circumstances  ever  known.  His  flag-ship,  which 
he  named  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  out  of  compliment  to 
Franklin,  was  an  old  Indiaman  so  much  decayed  that  it 
was  impossible  to  make  any  alterations  in  her.  She  was 
mounted  with  forty  guns,  mostly  old  and  defective,  and  had 
a  motley  crew  of  all  the  nations  on  the  earth,  many  of  them 
raw  peasants,  and  about  thirty  Americans  whom  Paul  Jones 
utilized  as  petty  officers. 

Many  persons  had  difficulty  in  persuading  themselves 
that  the  mysterious  vessel  which  was  seen  cruising  about 
was  really  the  American  ship.  A  member  of  Parliament 
who  lived  on  the  Scotch  coast  sent  out  to  the  Bon  Hominc 
Richard  — •  supposing  it  to  be  a  British  cruiser,  for  British 
colors  were  usually  worn  —  asking  for  some  powder  and 
shot  to  defend  himself  against  an  attack  by  Paul  Jones.  A 
barrel  of  powder  was  sent  him,  with  a  civil  message  re 
gretting  that  the  supposed  British  cruiser  had  no  suitable 
shot !  Another  day  a  pilot  was  enticed  on  board,  and  per 
suaded  to  give  the  private  signals.  Meanwrhile  the  time  for 
the  cruise  to  be  up  was  fast  approaching,  and  it  may  be  well 
imagined  that  Paul  Jones  suffered  anguish  at  the  idea  of 
returning  to  France  without  having  exchanged  a  shot  with 
the  enemy.  Such,  however,  was  not  to  be  his  fate.  At 


216     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


noon  on  September  23,  1779,  he  sighted  the  first  ship  of  the 
Baltic  fleet  coming  around  Flamborough  Head,  and  be 
fore  midnight  he  had  fought  the  most  extraordinary  and 
the  most  heroic  single-ship  fight  recorded  in  history. 

The  fleet  of  forty  ships  was  convoyed  by  the  Serapis, 
Captain  Pearson,  and  the  sloop  of  war  Countess  of  Scar 
borough,  Captain  Piercy.  The  Serapis  was  a  splendid  frig 
ate,  lately  off  the  stocks,  and 
carrying  fifty  guns  — "  the 
finest  ship  of  her  class  I  ever 
saw,"  Paul  Jones  wrote  to 
Franklin.  She  carried  a  crew 
of  four  hundred,  chiefly  picked 
seamen.  Paul  Jones  had  ac 
tually  on  board  about  three 
hundred  and  forty  men,  and 
only  one  sea  lieutenant  — 
Dale.  His  crew  had  been  de 
creased  by  sending  prize  crews 
away ;  while  one  of  his  lieu 
tenants,  with  sixteen  men,  had 

been  captured,  and  another  during  the  battle  was  absent 
from  the  ship  on  a  boat  expedition.  The  weight  of  the 
Serapis s  broadside  was  576;  of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard's, 
390.  But  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  fired  only  two  broad 
sides  when  two  of  the  old  guns  constituting  her  main-deck 
battery  burst,  and  the  rest  cracked  and  became  useless. 

The  Serapis  and  the  Bon  Ho  mine  Richard  both  cleared 
for  action  about  one  o'clock.  Each  captain  knew  whom  he 
was  fighting.  The  Serapis  manoeuvered  to  get  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard  under  the  guns  of  Scarborough  Castle, 


Captain  Paul  Jones. 


Paul  Jones  217 

but  Paul  Jones  outmanceuvered  him.  Meanwhile  the 
Pallas  alone  obeyed  the  order  given  the  rest  of  the  fleet, 
and  eventually  captured  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  very 
handsomely.  The  Vengeance  never  came  into  action' at  all, 
and  the  Alliance,  out  of  gunshot,  reconnoitered  cautiously. 
As  the  Pallas  passed,  Captain  Landais  shouted  that  if  the 
frigate  should  prove  to  be  the  Serapis,  all  they  had  to  do 
was  to  run  away! 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  good  deal  of  indiscriminate 
hailing  going  on  while  the  ships  were  approaching  each 
other.  The  first  hail  from  the  Serapis,  "  What  ship  is 
that  ?  "  was  answered,  "  Come  a  little  nearer  and  we'll  tell 
you."  The  Serapis  people  called  derisively,  "  What  are 
you  laden  with  ?  "  to  which  the  Americans  shouted,  "  Round, 
grape,  and  double-headed  shot !  " 

With  the  best  disposition  to  fight  in  the  world,  the  two 
ships  did  not  come  to  close  quarters  until  seven  in  the  even 
ing.  The  Bon  Homme  Richard  fired  the  first  broadside, 
which  was  promptly  returned.  Of  what  followed  Paul 
Jones  himself,  in  his  official  report,  tells  the  story  better 
than  anybody  else. 

The  battle  being  thus  begun  Was  Continued  with  unremitting 
fury.  Every  method  was  practised  on  both  sides  to  gain  an  ad 
vantage  and  rake  each  other ;  and  I  must  confess  that  the  Enemie's 
ship  being  much  more  manageable  than  the  B.  h.  R.  gained  thereby 
Several  times  an  advantageous  Situation  in  Spite  of  my  best  en 
deavors  to  prevent  it,  as  I  had  to  deal  with  an  Enemy  of  greatly 
superior  force  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  Closing  with  him  to 
prevent  the  advantage  which  he  had  over  me  in  point  of  manoeuvre. 
It  was  my  intention  to  lay  the  B.  h.  R.  athwart  the  Enemie's  bow, 
but  as  that  operation  required  great  dexterity  in  the  management 
of  both  Sails,  and  helm  and  Some  of  our  braces  being  shot  away, 


218     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

it  did  not  exactly  succeed  to  my  Wishes.  The  Enemie's  bowsprit 
came  over  the  B.  h.  R's.  poop  by  the  mizenmast  and  I  made  both 
ships  fast  together. 

Here  the  Enemy  attempted  to  board  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  but  was  deterred  from  it  on  finding  Captain 
Jones  with  a  pike  in  his  hand  at  the  gangway.  They  im 
agined  he  had,  as  they  said,  "  A  Large  Corps  dc  Reserve," 
which  was  a  fortunate  mistake,  as  no  man  took  up  a  pike 
but  himself. 

Naval  experts  have  agreed  that  there  were  no  new  prin 
ciples  evolved,  and  no  extraordinary  tactics  shown,  in  this 
remarkable  fight.  But  it  stands  alone  among  sea  fights  in 
that  the  ship  which  finally  forced  a  surrender  might  have 
been  considered  a  beaten  ship  from  the  beginning.  There 
was  not  a  moment,  after  the  second  broadside,  that  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard  was  not  technically  whipped.  But  her 
captain  was  unconquerable,  and  by  an  unexampled  tenacity 
and  courage  forced  the  surrender  of  a  good  ship  to  the 
shattered,  disarmed,  and  burning  shell  of  the  Bon  Hommc 
Richard. 

Franklin  wrote  a  very  beautiful  letter  to  Paul  Jones,  in 
which  he  said : 

For  some  Days  after  the  Arrival  of  your  Express,  nothing  was 
talked  of  at  Paris  and  Versailles,  but  your  cool  Conduct  and  per 
severing  Bravery  during  that  terrible  conflict.  You  may  believe 
the  Impression  on  my  mind  was  not  less  strong  than  that  of 
others,  but  I  do  not  chuse  to  say  in  a  Letter  to  yourself,  all  I 
think  on  such  an  occasion.  ...  I  am  uneasy  about  your  Pris 
oners,  and  wish  they  were  safe  in  France.  You  will  then  have 
Compleated  the  glorious  work  of  giving  Liberty  to  all  the  Amer 
icans  who  have  so  long  Languished  in  British  Prisons:  for  there 
are  not  so  many  there  as  you  have  now  taken. 


Paul  Jones 


219 


Soon  after  this  he  was  unanimously  elected  the  ranking 
officer  of  the  American  navy,  and  appointed  to  superintend 
the  building  and  to  have  command  of  the  Government's  only 
seventy- four,  the  America,  then  on  the  stocks  at  Ports 
mouth,  New  Hampshire.  Nearly  two  years  were  spent  in 
this  employment,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  ship  was 
presented  to  France,  in  lieu  of  one  that  had  been  lost  in 
Boston  harbor. 

By  1791  his  health  was  quite  gone,  and  he  speaks  of  him 
self  as  an  old  man,  although  he  had  barely  turned  five  and 
forty.  He  suffered  from  a  complication  of  diseases,  and 
kept  his  bed  much  of  the  time.  There  is  a  very  touching 
letter  from  him  to  one  of  his  sisters,  trying  to  heal  a  family 
quarrel.  He  inculcated  charity  and  forbearance  with  no 
mean  skill,  and  his  allusions  to  his  belief  in  a  future  life 
were  frank  and  forcible. 

On  July  1 8,  in  the  afternoon,  seeing  he  was  fast  failing, 
Gouverneur  Morris  induced 
him  to  draw  up  his  will.  It 
is  a  simple  document  in  which 
he  divides  his  property  between 
his  sisters,  and  names  Robert 
Morris  as  his  sole  executor. 

In  the  funeral  discourse  over 
him  it  was  said  :  "  The  fame 
of  the  brave  outlives  him;  his 
portion  is  immortality." 

So  long  as  ships  sail  the  sea 
will  the  name  of  Paul  Jones 
be  respected.  His  country 
owes  him  a  great  debt;  for  he  truly  said,  "I  have  ever 


22O    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

looked  out  for  the  Honor  of  the  American  Flag."  And 
it  may  be  said  of  him,  as  of  the  great  Conde:  "  This  man 
was  born  a  captain." 


THE  STAMP-ACT  BOX 
BY  DAVID  WALKER  WOODS,  JR. 

Looking  over  some  deeds  the  other  day,  I  noticed  that 
on  most  of  them  were  several  stamps  ranging  in  value  from 
ten  cents  to  ten  dollars.  Every  boy  who  has  a  stamp-album 
knows  that  these  are  revenue-stamps  which  represent  a  tax 
imposed  by  the  United  States  government  in  order  to  raise 
money  to  carry  on  the  war  for  the  Union.  Very  few  peo 
ple  in  the  North  objected  to  this  tax,  for  they  were  support 
ing  the  Union  soldiers  and  the  government  at  Washington. 

But  these  stamps  remind  us  of  two  other  wars  with 
which  stamps  had  much  to  do.  During  our  war  for  the 
Union  the  stamps  were  sold  to  raise  money  to  resist  and  put 
down  rebellion.  The  other  wars  were  \vars  against  unjust 
taxation,  and  this  taxation  was  represented  by  the  stamps. 
In-  one  case  rebellion  produced  the  stamps;  in  the  other 
two  cases  the  stamps  produced  rebellion. 

One  of  these  latter  wars  resulted  in  the  independence  of 
Cuba.  Perhaps  my  readers  already  know  that  the  Cubans 
complained  of  the  taxes  of  the  Spanish  government.  Every 
merchant  in  Cuba  had  to  have  the  pages  of  his  account- 
books  marked  with  a  government  stamp  fixed  there  by  an 
inspector  who  examined  the  books  every  three  months  or 
oftener.  Every  shopkeeper  had  to  pay  a  tax  for  each  let 
ter  of  the  sign  over  his  door.  These  things  cost  a  great 
deal  of  money.  If  the  money  were  used  in  Cuba,  and  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Cubans,  perhaps  they  would  not  have  re- 

221 


222     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

sisted  the  tax.  But  most  of  it,  the  Cubans  said,  went  to 
Spain;  they  also  claimed  that  the  little  that  remained  in 
Cuba  was  used  to  pay  Spanish  officials  and  soldiers  who 
oppressed  the  Cubans. 

The  war  in  Cuba  was  very  much  like  the  American  Revo 
lution,  in  which  our  forefathers  rebelled  against  the  British 


The   Stamp-Act  box. 

government.  Most  of  us  think  of  the  Revolution  as  begin 
ning  with  the  vicToi^oTthe  "  Minntemei^^at ..Concord  in 
1775.  It  really  began  in  1765,  and  was  marked  by  a  vic 
tory  in  1766.  In  1765  the  British  government  passed  the 
Stamp  Act,  which  obliged  the  Americans  to  put  stamps  on 
their  deeds  and  other  legal  papers  and  to  pay  for  stamps 
placed  on  British  goods.  The  Americans  resisted  this  by 
refusing  to  buy  British  goods.  Lawyers  refused  to  put 
the  stamps  on  their  papers,  and  ladies  gave  up  wearing 
dresses  of  English  cloth,  and  wore  homespun  gowns. 

The  men  went  further.  In  Boston  they  made  an  effigy 
of  the  stamp-collector,  Oliver,  to  which  they  tied  a  boot,  in 
ridicule  of  Lord  Bute,  the  British  minister.  These  were 
placed  on  a  bier,  and  then  burned  in  front  of  Oliver's  house. 


The  Stamp-Act  Box  223 

In  New  York  the  men  broke  into  the  governor's  coach 
house,  took  out  his  coach,  on  which  they  put  a  stuffed 
figure,  and  burned  both  coach  and  effigy  in  front  of  the  gov 
ernor's  residence.  Finally,  things  came  to  such  a  pass  that 
the  British  government  repealed  the  Stamp  Act,  and  that 
was  the  colonists'  first  victory.  The  repeal  papers  were 
sent  over  in  a  little  wooden  box  covered  with  leather. 

Ten  years  later  this  box  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress  who  was  also  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  After  the  war  he  gave  it 
to  his  wife,  who  gave  it  to  her  daughter,  and  she  probably 
used  to  keep  her  gloves  and  ribbons  in  it.  It  happens  that 
this  daughter  was  my  grandmother,  and  that  is  how  the  box 
came  into  our  family. 

If  you  could  see  the  box,  you  would  find  that  the  leather 
and  the  wood  are  full  of  little  holes.  They  were  made  by 
insects,  which  might  have  destroyed  the  box.  But  it  has 
been  saturated  with  a  strong  chemical  which  we  hope  will 
save  it  for  many  years.  In  the  picture  you  are  looking 
down  at  the  top  of  the  box.  The  little  brass  handle  by 
which  it  was  carried  lies  upon  the  letters  "  G.  R.,"  which 
stand  for  Georgius  Rex,  that  is,  King  George.  Above  the 
letters  is  a  crown,  and  below  you  can  read  the  words, 
"  Stamp  Act  R'p'd,  March  18,  1766."  The  letters  and  the 
figures  which  ornament  the  box  are  in  gilt. 

This  box  is  a  trophy  of  a  victory  .against  unjust  taxation. 
But  all  true  men  of  that  day  thought  of  something  more 
than  money  and  taxes.  They  believed  in  uprightness  and 
honor  and  truth.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  government  to  do 
justice,  and  this  was  well  understood  by  John  Witherspoon, 
who  gave  an  ancestor  of  mine  the  Stamp-Act  Box.  It  is 
very  well  to  have  a  strong  navy  and  a  strong  army ;  but  it 


224    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

is  well  also  to  remember  the  words  of  Wither  spoon  of  the 
Continental  Congress  on  the  true  nature  of  national 
strength : 

"  He  who  makes  a  people  virtuous  makes  them  invincible  " 
—  that  is,  the  true  strength  of  a  nation  is  uprightness. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  OUR  FLAG 
BY  PARMALEE  MCFADDEN 

Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that 
the  bunch  of  colored  ribbons  you 
wear  in  your  buttonhole  —  or 
pinned  on  your  dress  if  you  are 
a  girl  —  at  commencement,  or  at 
a  baseball  or  foot-ball  game,  is 
really  a  flag?  It  tells  to  what 
class  or  school  or  college  you  be 
long,  or  which  of  these  for  the 
time,  has  your  interest  and  sym 
pathy.  And  for  somewhat  sim 
ilar  reasons  do  nations  wear  their 
colors.  At  first  maybe  it  was  to 
tell  one  another  apart;  but  after  a  while  the  colors  —  the 
flag  —  came  to  represent  the  nation  itself;  and  the  way  the 
people  acted  toward  the  nation's  flag  was  supposed  to  show 
the  way  they  felt  toward  the  nation. 

When  the  American  army  was  encamped  at  Cambridge, 
just  outside  of  Boston,  General  Washington  felt  the  need 
of  a  distinctive  flag.     There  were  thirteen  colonies  repre 
sented  in  that  army,  and  each  had  its  own  flag,  while  some 
had  more  than  one.     Among  this  miscellaneous  lot  of  flags 
was  the  one,  of  which  you  have  often  seen  pictures,  showing 
a  rattlesnake,  and  bearing  the  motto :  "  Don't  tread  on  me." 
But  what  the  country  needed  was  one  flag,  with  a  design 
is  225 


226    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


that  meant  something.  So  Congress  sent  a  committee, 
headed  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  which  consulted  with  Gen 
eral  Washington,  and  recommended  a  flag  to  stand  for  all 


Fig.  i.  Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 

The  early  flag  of  Efng-  The     early     flag     of  The      king's      colors, 

land,     St.    George's  Scotland,     St.     An-  adopted  1606. 

Cross.  drew's  Cross. 


Fig.  4.  Fig.  5. 

The  flag  of  Great  The  flag  of  the  United 
Britain  and  her  col-  Colonies  of  Amer- 
onies,  adopted  1707.  ica,  first  used  Janu 

ary,  1776. 


Fig.  6. 

First  flag  of  the 
United  States  of 
America  (13  stars 
and  13  stripes), 
adopted  1777, 


Fig.  7- 

The  flag  adopted  in 
1795  (J5  stars  and 
15  stripes). 


Fig.  8. 

The  flag  when  it  had 
45  stars  and  13 
stripes. 


The  Origin  of  Our  Flag  227 

the  colonies.  After  much  discussion  the  one  adopted  was 
that  shown  in  Fig.  5. 

To  understand  how  this  flag  grew  from  older  flags,  let 
us  for  a  moment  go  back  to  the  early  flags  of  England. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  flag  of 
England  bore  simply  the  red  cross  of  St.  George  on  a  white 
ground  (see  Fig.  i)  ;  while  the  flag  of  Scotland  was  a  white 
St.  Andrew's  cross  on  a  blue  ground  (see  Fig.  2).  In  1603 
England  and  Scotland  were  united,  and  three  years  later 
the  two  flags  were  combined  to  form  what  was  called  the 
"king's  colors"  (see  Fig.  3),  England  and  Scotland,  how 
ever,  retaining  their  own  individual  flags.  Indeed,  it  was 
the  red  cross  of  St.  George  that  the  "  Mayflower  "  flew  at 
her  masthead  when  she  brought  her  precious  load  of  Pil 
grims  to  Plymouth  that  cold  winter  of  1620,  for  she  was 
an  English  ship. 

In  1707  Gre'at  Britain  adopted  for  herself  and  her  colonies 
the  flag  shown  in  Fig.  4,  the  main  part  being  red,  but  hav 
ing  in  its  upper  corner  the  "  king's  colors,"  or  "  union  " 
flag,  which  represented  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland; 
and  since  that  time  this  part  of  the  flag  has  been  called  the 
"  union,"  or  "  jack,"  and  sometimes  the  "  union  jack." 
The  term  "  jack  "  is  supposed  to  have  come  from  Jacques, 
the  French  spelling  of  James,  which  form  the  then  King  of 
England,  James  I,  used  in  signing  his  name. 

This  (Fig.  4)  was  the  flag  of  Great  Britain  down  to  the 
year  1801,  when  Ireland  was  added  to  form  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  This  further  ex 
tension  to  the  nation  was  represented  in  the  union  by  the 
addition  of  the  cross  of  St.  Patrick,  which  was  a  diagonal 
cross,  like  that  of  St.  Andrew,  only  it  was  red  on  a  white 
field.  The  combination  of  these  three  crosses  of  England, 


228     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

Scotland,  and  Ireland  has  formed  the  union  in  the  flag  of 
Great  Britain  from  the  year  1801  down  to  the  present  day. 
But  this  last  form  of  the  union  jack  is  not  shown  here,  for  it 
has  nothing  to  do  with  our  flag,  and  never  was  used  by 
any  of  the  American  colonies. 

From  the  flag  shown  in  Fig.  4  we  come  to  that  shown  in 
Fig.  5  —  the  one  that  begins  to  show  a  resemblance  to  our 
own  familiar  flag.  This  was  the  flag  recommended  by  Dr. 
Franklin's  Congressional  Committee.  It  was  called  the  flag 
of  the  "  United  Colonies  of  America,"  and  had  for  its  union 
the  union  jack,  made  up  of  only  the  St.  George  and  St. 
Andrew's  crosses  of  the  British  flag:  but  its  main  field  con 
sisted  of  thirteen  stripes,  alternately  red  and  white.  There 
is  nothing  definite  known  as  to  what  suggested  the  idea,  of 
the  stripes,  unless,  as  has  been  claimed,  the  stripes  that  ap 
peared  on  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Washington  family;  al 
though  a  flag  with  stripes  was  used  by  the  troop  of  light 
horses  that  escorted  Washington  from  Philadelphia  to  New 
York  when  he  took  command  of  the  army;  and  stripes 
were  also  used  on  one  of  the  flags  of  the  Fast  India  Com 
pany. 

This  flag  was  first  used  by  the  American  army  encamped 
at  Cambridge.  The  next  stage  in  the  evolution  of  our  flag 
was  in  1777,  when  by  resolution  of  Congress  it  was  ordered 
"  that  the  flag  of  the  thirteen  United  States  "  (not  colonies 
now)  "  be  thirteen  stripes  alternately  red  and  white"  (just 
as  in  the  flag  then  in  use),  but  "the  union  to  be  thirteen 
stars,  white  on  a  blue  field,  representing  a  new  constella 
tion  "  (see  Fig.  6).  In  this  new  form  we  find  another  sug 
gestion  of  the  Washington  coat  of  arms,  which  contained, 
in  addition  to  two  wide  red  bars,  three  stars;  at  least,  they 
were  in  the  form  of  stars,  though  in  heraldry  they  would 


The  Origin  of  Our  Flag  229 

probably  be  called  "  mullets  "  or  "  rowels  "•  —  the  sharp- 
pointed  wheels  used  in  riding-spurs. 

At  the  time  the  stars  and  stripes  were  adopted  Congress 
was  sitting  in  Independence  Hall,  in  Philadelphia.  There 
was  living  in  the  city  a  widow  named  Elizabeth  Ross,  who 
for  several  years,  had  made  government  and  other  flags.  It 
was  by  this  woman,  in  her  home  in  Philadelphia,  that  the 
first  flag  authorized  by  Congress  was  made.  It  may  be  in 
teresting  to  know  that  Mrs.  Ross's  home  —  the  "  Betsy 
Ross  House,"  it  is  called  —  is  still  standing  at  239  Arch 
Street,  Philadelphia. 

About  five  years  ago  a  number  of  citizens  were  given  a 
charter  under  the  name  of  the  "  American  Flag  House  and 
Betsy  Ross  Memorial  Association."  The  object  of  the  as 
sociation  have  been  partially  fulfilled  by  its  purchasing  the 
old  Ross  house  and  converting  it  into  a  museum. 

It  was  in  the  back  room  of  this  house,  then,  that  General 
Washington,  Robert  Morris,  and  a  Colonel  Ross  discussed 
with  Betsy  Ross  the  details  of  the  flag.  It  was  here  j;hey 
decided  that  the  thirteen  stars  should  be  placed  in  the  form 
of  a  circle  to  show  that  it  was  for  all  times  and  had  no 
end.  When  considering  how  many  points  the  stars  should 
have,  it  is  reported  that  Betsy  Ross  suggested  they  be  given 
five  points,  because  the  cloth  could  be  folded  in  such  a  way 
that  a  complete  star  could  be  made  by  one  cut  of  the  scissors. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  our  flags  all  have  five-pointed 
stars,  while  those  on  our  coins  are  six-pointed. 

This  (Fig.  6)  was  the  flag  that  was  used  at  the  battle  of 
the  Brandywine  and  at  Germantown.  It  was  with  our 
army  when  Burgoyne  surrendered ;  with  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge;  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown; 
and  at  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  British  in  1787. 


230    The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

After  Vermont  and  Kentucky  were  admitted  as  States, 
Congress  ordered  that  after  May  i,  1795,  the  flag  have 
fifteen  stripes  ancl  fifteen  stars  (see  Fig.  7).  This  was  the 
flag  that  our  army  and  navy  carried  in  the  War  of  1812. 

But,  scarcely  less  interesting  to  patriotic  Americans  is  the 
fact  that  this  particular  form  of  the  flag  was  the  one  used  at 
he  attack  on  Fort  McHenry,  when  Francis  Scott  Key  waited 
with  others  for  the  return  of  morning  to  learn  whether  the 
fort  had  fallen;  and  when  "by  the  dawn's  early  light  "  he 
saw  through  the  mist  "  that  our  flag  was  still  there,"  and 
was  stirred  into  writing  "  The  Star-Spangled  Banner," 
which  has  since  become  our  national  anthem. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  illustration,  this  fifteen-stripe 
flag  has  not  so  graceful  proportions  as  those  of  the  preced 
ing  forms,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  if  a  new  stripe 
were  to  be  added  for  each  State  admitted  into  the  Union, 
in  the  course  of  time  the  flag  would  become  unwieldy. 
So  in  1818,  when  there  were  twenty  States,  Congress  passed 
a  law  to  the  effect  that  after  the  following  July  4  the  num 
ber  of  stripes  in  the  flag  should  be  reduced  to  the  original 
thirteen,  but  that  the  union  should  have  twenty  stars;  and 
that  as  each  new  State  was  admitted  another  star  should  be 
added,  to  take  effect  the  Fourth  of  July  next  following  its 
admission. 

From  that  time  down  to  this  day  the  stripes  have  stood 
for  the  original  thirteen  States,  and  the  stars  for  all  the 
States. 


Boston  in  1757.     From  an  old  print. 


BOSTON 
BY  THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON 

The  summer  traveler  who  ap 
proaches  Boston  from  the  land  side 
is  apt  to  notice  a  tall  and  abundant 
wayside  plant,  having  a  rather  stiff 
and  ungainly  stem,  surmounted  by  a 
flower  with  soft  and  delicate  petals, 
and  of  a  lovely  shade  of  blue.  This 
is  the  succory  (Cichorium  Intybits  of 
the  botanists),  described  by  Emerson 
as  "  succory  to  match  the  sky."  But 
it  is  not  commonly  known  in  New 
England  by  this  brief  name,  being 
oftener  called  "  Boston  weed,"  simply 
because  it  grows  more  and  more  abundant  as  one  comes 
nearer  to  that  city.  When  a  genuine  Bostonian  (which  the 
present  writer  is  not,  being  only  a  suburban),  returning  to 
his  home  in  late  summer,  sees  this  fair  blossom  on  an  un 
gainly  stem  assembled  profusely  by  the  roadside,  he  begins 
to  collect  his  bags  and  bundles,  knowing  that  he  approaches 
his  journey's  end. 

231 


Succory,    or    Chicory. 


232     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 


...;^ 


The  original  Boston,  as  founded  by  Gov 
ernor  John   Winthrop   in    1630,    was    estab 
lished  on  a  rocky,  three-hilled  peninsula,  in 
whose   thickets   wolves   and   bears   were   yet 
harbored,      and      which 
was  known  variously  as 
Shawmut       and        Tri- 
mountain.     The     settle 
ment    itself   was   a   sort 
of     afterthought,     being 
taken  as  a  substitute  for 

^1 

Charlestown,  where  a 
temporary  abode  had 
been  founded  by  Win- 
throp's  party.  There 
had  been  much  illness 
there,  and  so  Mr.  Black- 
stone,  or  Blaxtone,  who 
had  for  seven  years 
been  settled  on  the  pen 
insula,  urged  the  trans 
fer  of  the  little  colony. 
The  whole  tongue  of 
land  then  comprised  but 
783  acres  —  an  area  a 
little  less  than  that  orig 
inally  allotted  to  the 
New  York  Central 
Park. 

Of  the  original  three 
hills,  one  only  is  now  noticeable  by  the  stranger.  I  myself 
can  remember  Boston  in  my  college  days,  as  a  pear-shaped 


Old    South    Church. 


Boston  233 

peninsula,  two  miles  by  one,  hung  to  the  mainland  by  a 
neck  a  mile  long  and  only  a  few  yards  wide,  sometimes 
actually  covered  by  the  meeting  of  the  tide- waters  from 
both  sides.  The  water  almost  touched  Charles  Street, 
where  the  Public  Garden  now  is  and  it  rolled  over  the 
flats  where  the  costliest  houses  of  the  city  at  present 
stand. 

Boston  has  certainly  stood,  from  an  early  time,  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  country  for  a  certain  quality  of  combined  thrift 
and  ardor  which  has  made  it  to  some  extent  an  individual 
city.  Its  very  cows,  during  its  rural  period,  shared  this  at 
tribute,  from  the  time  when  they  laid  out  its  streets  by  their 
devious  wanderings,  to  the  time  when  "  Lady  Hancock,"  as 
she  was  called,  helped  herself  to  milk  from  the  cows  of  her 
fellow-citizens  to  meet  a  sudden  descent  of  official  visitors 
upon  her  husband  the  governor.  From  the  period  when 
Boston  was  a  busy  little  colonial  mart  —  the  period  best 
described  in  Hawthorne's  "  Province  House  Legends  "  and 
"My  Kinsman  Major  Molineux  " — through  the  period 
when,  as  described  in  Mrs.  Ouincy's  reminiscences,  the  gen 
tlemen  went  to  King's  Chapel  in  scarlet  cloaks,  down  to  the 
modern  period  of  transcontinental  railways  and  great  manu 
facturing  enterprises,  the  city  has  at  least  aroused  a  peculiar 
loyalty  on  the  part  of  its  citizens.  Behind  all  the  thunders 
of  Wendell  Phillips's  eloquence  there  lay  always  the  strong 
local  pride.  "  I  love  inexpressibly,"  he  said,  "  these  streets 
of  Boston,  over  which  my  mother  held  up  my  baby  foot 
steps  and  if  God  grants  me  time  enough,  I  will  make  them 
too  pure  to  be  trodden  by  the  footsteps  of  a  slave."  He 
lived  to  see  his  dream  fulfilled.  Instead  of  the  surrendered 
slave,  Anthony  Burns,  marching  in  a  hollow  square  formed 
by  the  files  of  the  militia,  Phillips  lived  to  see  the  fair-haired 


234     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

boy,  Robert  Shaw,  riding  at  the  head  of  his  black  regiment, 
to  aid  in  securing  the  freedom  of  a  race. 

During  the  Revolution,  Boston  was  the  center  of  those 
early  struggles.  Faneuil  Hall  still  stands  —  the  place 
where,  in  1774,  a  letter  as  to  grievances  was  ordered  to  be 
sent  to  the  other  towns  in  the  State ;  the  old  State  House  is 
standing,  where  the  plans  suggested  by  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses  were  adopted;  the  old  South  Church  remains, 
whence  the  disguised  Indians  of  the  Boston  Tea-party  went 
forth,  and  where  Dr.  Warren,  on  March  5,  1775,  defied  the 
British  officers,  and  when  one  of  them  held  up  warningly 
some  pistol-bullets,  dropped  his  handkerchief  over  them 
and  went  on.  The  old  North  or  Christ  Church  also  re 
mains,  where  the  two  lights  were  hung  out  as  the  signal  for 
Paul  Revere's  famous  ride,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Lex 
ington. 

So  prominent  was  Boston  during  this  period  that  it  even 
awakened  the  jealousy  of  the  other  colonies;  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Shirley  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  said  to 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  in  March,  1773:  "  Boston  aims  at  noth 
ing  less  than  the  sovereignty  of  this  whole  continent. 
.  .  .  Take  away  the  power  and  superintendence  of  Brit 
ain,  and  the  colonies  must  submit  to  the  next  power.  Bos 
ton  would  soon  have  that." 

One  of  the  attractions  of  Boston  has  long  been  that  in  this 
city,  as  in  Edinburgh,  might  be  found  a  circle  of  literary 
men,  better  organized  and  more  concentrated  than  if  lost  in 
the  confusion  of  a  larger  metropolis.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  New  York,  this  circle  might  be  held  provincial,  as 
might  Edinburgh  from  London;  and  the  resident  of  the 
larger  community  might  at  best  use  about  the  Bostonian  the 


Boston 


235 


saying  attributed  to  Dr.  Johnson  about  the  Scotchman,  that 
"  much  might  be  made  of  him  if  caught  young."  Indeed, 
much  of  New  York's  best  literary  material  came  always 
from  New  England ;  just  as  Scotland  still  holds  its  own  in 
London  literature.  No  doubt  each  place  has  its  advantages, 


The  old  State  House. 

but  there  was  a  time  when  one  might  easily  meet  in  one 
Boston  book-store  in  a  day  such  men  as  Emerson,  Parker, 
Longfellow,  Lowell,  Holmes,  Whittier,  Sumner,  Agassiz, 
Parkman,  Whipple,  Hale,  Aldrich,  and  Howell;  with  such 
women  as  Lydia  Maria  Child  and  Julia  Ward  Howe.  Now, 
if  we  consider  how  much  of  American  literature  is  repre- 


236     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

sented  by  these  few  names,  it  is  evident  that  if  Boston  was 
never  metropolitan,  it  at  least  had  a  combination  of  literary 
ability  such  as  no  larger  American  city  has  yet  rivaled. 

The  very  irregularity  of  the  city  adds  to  its  attraction, 
since  most  of  our  newer  cities  are  apt  to  look  too  regular  and 
too  monotonous.  Foreign  dialects  have  greatly  increased 
within  a  few  years;  for  although  the  German  element  has 
never  been  large,  the  Italian  population  is  constantly  in 
creasing,  and  makes  itself  very  apparent  to  the  ear.  Statues 
of  eminent  Bostonians  —  Winthrop,  Franklin,  Sam  Adams, 
Webster,  Garrison,  Everett,  Horace  Mann,  and  others  — 
are  distributed  about  the  city,  and  though  not  always  beau 
tiful  as  art,  are  suggestive  of  dignified  memories.  Institu 
tions  of  importance  are  on  all  sides,  and  though  these  are 
not  different  in  kind  from  those  now  numerous  in  all  vigor 
ous  American  cities,  yet  in  Boston  they  often  claim  a  longer 
date  or  more  historic  associations.  The  great  Public  Li 
brary  still  leads  American  institutions  of  its  class;  and  the 
Art  Museum  had  a  similar  leadership  until  the  recent  great 
expansion  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  New  York  City. 
The  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  and  the  New 
England  Conservatory  of  Music  educate  large  numbers  of 
pupils  from  all  parts  of  the  Union;  while  Boston  University 
and  Boston  College  hold  an  honored  place  among  their 
respective  constituencies.  Harvard  University,  Tufts  Col 
lege,  and  Wellesley  College  are  not  far  distant.  The  public- 
school  system  of  Boston  has  in  times  past  had  great 
reputation,  and  still  retains  it ;  though  it  is  claimed  that  the 
newer  systems  of  the  Western  States  are  in  some  degree 
surpassing  it. 

It  is  now  nearly  two  hundred  years  since  an  English 


The  old  North  Church,  with  its  so-called  Paul  Revere  Tower. 


238     The  Colonists  and  the  Revolution 

traveler  named  Edward  Ward  thus  described  the  Boston 
of  1699: 

"  On  the  southwest  side  of  Massachusetts  Bay  is  Boston,  whose 
name  is  taken  from  a  town  in  Lincolnshire  and  is  the  Metropolis 
of  all  New  England.  The  houses  in  some  parts  joyn,  as  in  Lon 
don.  The  buildings,  like  their  women,  being  neat  and  handsome. 
And  their  streets,  like  the  hearts  of  the  male  inhabitants,  being 
paved  with  pebble." 

The  leadership  of  Boston,  during  these  two  centuries,  in 
a  thousand  works  of  charity  and  kindness  has  completely 
refuted  the  hasty  censure  of  this  roving  Englishman;  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Boston  of  the  future,  like  the 
Boston  of  the  past,  will  do  its  fair  share  in  the  development 
of  that  ampler  American  civilization  of  which  all  present 
achievements  suggest  only  the  promise  and  the  dawn. 


INDEX 


Baltimore,  Lord,  21-23 
Boston,  231-238 

Calvert,  Leonard,  20-22,  27 
Chesapeake  Bay,  20-28 

Declaration  of  Independence,  157- 

178 
Dutch  Colonists,  3,  65-69 

Flag,  Origin  of,  225-230 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  31-46,  51,  52, 

201-208 
Fur-traders,  96-102 

Hale,  Nathan,  184-193 
Home-life  in  the  Colonies,  3-8,  20- 
28,  70-82,  83-87,  88-95,    113-124 
Huguenots,  5 

Indians,  61-^-64,  83,  96-102,  103-112 
Indian  Wars,  9-19 

Jones,  Captain  Paul,  209-219 
King  Philip,  15,  18 
Lafayette,  194-200 


Maryland  Colonists,  14,  20-28 
Massasoit,  15 

New  England  Colonists,  12,  13,  15, 
17,  19,  27,  54,  55,  85-87,  88-95 

Penn,  William,  49,  52,  53,  57,  58, 

63 

Pennsylvania,  29,  30,  47-56,  57-64 
Philadelphia,  47-56 
Princeton,  Battle  of,  179-183 
Puritans,  4,  17,  67,  88-95 

Quebec,  129-137 

Revolution,  Causes   of,  35-40,  43, 

126-128 

Revolution,  Table  of,  102 
Revolutionary  Times,  113-125,  129- 

137,  179-183,  184-238 

Smith,  Captain  John,  9 
Stamp-Act,  Box,  221-224 

Washington,  George,  138-148,  149- 
156,  179-183,  196 


239 


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